Tag Archives: S. L. Kanthan

Did Israel use WhatsApp to locate + kill Ismail Haniyeh?!

Claim : Israel used WhatsApp to locate + kill Ismail Haniyeh

Some people are claiming or suggesting that Israel used WhatsApp to locate Ismail Haniyeh before killing him with a drone-fired missile!

Megatron : 🇮🇱🇮🇷 Israeli intelligence managed to identify Hamas politburo chief using WhatsApp messenger*

He was f**king using an app owned by Meta, which has a Jewish boss. Madness.

Lebanese journalist Elia Manier spoke about it. She explained that with the help of spy software embedded in the phone, the house where Hania was located was discovered, and then a rocket attack was launched from the drone.

S.L. Kanthan : Hamas leader was killed by WhatsApp 😳

Apparently, Mossad installed spyware on Ismail Haniyeh’s phone via a WhatsApp message.

The spyware sent his location to Israel, which used a drone to launch a missile.

LordBebo : 🇮🇱🇵🇸🇮🇷 Israeli intelligence tracked Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh via WhatsApp.

According to Lebanese journalist Elia Manier, Israeli intelligence installed spyware on Haniyeh’s phone via a WhatsApp message. The spyware made it possible to detect the exact location of the house where the Hamas leader was located and launch a missile strike on it from a drone.

Manier claims that the malware is identical to the Pegasus smartphone hacking virus, which is developed and sold under license by the Israeli company NSO Group. It allows you to access messages, photos, location data and even control the phone’s camera and microphone without the user’s knowledge.

Earlier, Israelis wrote that a rocket was fired at the apartment where the Hamas leader was sleeping.

SilencedSirs : 🚨⚡ Israeli intelligence tracked Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh through WhatsApp!

According to Lebanese journalist Elia Manier, Israeli intelligence installed spyware on Haniyeh’s phone via a WhatsApp message.

The spyware enabled them to pinpoint the exact location of the house where Haniyeh was staying and launch a missile strike on it from a drone.

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No evidence Israel used WhatsApp to locate + kill Ismail Haniyeh

This is yet another example of fake news circulating on social media, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Elia Manier does not exist

Many of these claims referred to female Lebanese journalist Elia Manier as the source. However, there is no Lebanese journalist called Elia Manier, male or female.

The truth is – it was Elijah J. Magnier – a Brussels-based war correspondent who made that claim. Magnier, as far as I can tell, isn’t Lebanese. Magnier is also male with he/him pronouns.

If these people cannot even get the name, gender, and nationality of their source correct, how trustworthy do you think they are???

Fact #2 : WhatsApp message to Ismail Haniyeh is fake

Some people are sharing a screenshot of a WhatsApp message which was purportedly used to install spyware in Ismail Haniyeh’s smartphone, which appears to be an iPhone.

While we have no idea whether Ismail Haniyeh actually uses an Apple iPhone – “evil” American product and all that, this WhatsApp screenshot is most definitely fake, because:

WhatsApp does not show the person’s profile photo in the chat. Instead, the video and call icons are on the upper right corner of the chat.
The back button does not have a Chats label. Depending on the version of WhatsApp being used, it is either empty, or shows the number of chats with unread messages (e.g. 34)
If the unknown sender was the Mossad trying to trick Ismail Haniyeh into opening the message, they would not likely message him in English, and so casually at that – “Hey what’s up, you arrived yet?“

On top of that, no one actually explained how they came by that screenshot. They certainly did not get it from Elijah Magnier, or the non-existent Elia Manier.

Did the Mossad published it publicly? Obviously, not. Did they obtain it from a Mossad insider? They didn’t say. Did they hack it from Ismail Haniyeh’s smartphone, which would have been blown to bits? That would be quite a feat…

What is certain is – that WhatsApp screenshot is fake, and the actual person who made the claim, Elijah Magnier, did not post it on his X account.

Fact #3 : Magnier never said Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a missile

On 31 July 2024, Elijah J. Magnier claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Israel used WhatsApp to introduce spyware into Ismail Haniyeh’s smartphone, exposing his location.

#Israel’s Use of Spying Software to Target #Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh:

Israel reportedly planted sophisticated spyware through a WhatsApp message sent to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. This software allowed Israeli intelligence to localize his exact position within his apartment. Subsequently, Haniyeh was assassinated following a conversation he had with his son, during which his location was pinpointed.

The spyware in question is believed to be similar to the notorious Pegasus software developed by the Israeli cyber-intelligence firm NSO Group. Pegasus has the capability to infiltrate smartphones, allowing the operator to access messages, photos, and location data, and even control the phone’s camera and microphone without the user’s knowledge.

Such advanced technology enables real-time surveillance and precise targeting, making it an invaluable tool for intelligence operations. The successful use of this spyware highlights the ongoing cyber warfare tactics employed in modern conflicts, showcasing how digital tools are increasingly pivotal in gathering intelligence and executing targeted strikes.

Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination underscores the effectiveness of these methods and the lengths to which state actors will go to neutralize perceived threats. This incident also raises significant concerns about privacy and the potential misuse of such powerful surveillance tools for illegal activities and assassinations.

As you can see, Magnier did not claim that Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated by a missile fired by a drone. So where are those people getting their information from, since their actual “source” never made that claim???

Fact #4 : Ismail Haniyeh was allegedly killed by a pre-planted bomb

In fact, The New York Times just published an investigation, in which five Middle Eastern officials confirmed that Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a bomb that was smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he stayed, approximately two months earlier.

The bomb was then remotely detonated once it was confirmed that Haniyeh was inside his room. That’s why the blast only killed Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard, who were staying in the same room, but did not kill people in the adjoining rooms. A missile would have caused far more catastrophic damage.

Two Iranian officials who were briefed on the attack, confirmed that the explosion took place inside Ismail Haniyeh’s room, and the initial investigation showed that the explosives were placed there sometime in advance.

Yet again, those who claimed that Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a missile or rocket fired by an Israeli drone never provided any evidence.

Fact #5 : Elijah Magnier did not provide any evidence / source

While Magnier’s allegations that a WhatsApp message was used to deliver spyware is plausible, he did not actually provide any evidence to back up those claims. In fact, he didn’t even mention his source(s), or whether he managed to verify their account.

Now, I’m not saying that he should name his sources, but at least he should mention them – two senior Iranian officials, or a Mossad hacker, for example, so we have an idea of how credible his sources might be. Or whether he was able to independently confirm their account from a different source.

Magnier may or may not prove to be right, but those viral messages claiming that a Lebanese journalist called Elia Manier confirmed that Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a missile fired by a drone after being located by spyware installed using a WhatsApp message are definitely fake news.

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Microsoft / CrowdStrike: Who is responsible for global IT outage?

Claim : Microsoft Is Responsible For Global IT Outrage, Not CrowdStrike!

On Friday, 19 July 2024 – a day that will live in digital infamy, businesses and organisations worldwide were hit by an IT outage on their Windows-based systems. Inevitably, some people are blaming Microsoft for this debacle…

Circulating on WhatsApp : Very interesting to see how the media is playing down on the disaster.

Question remains “Not sure how microsoft is going to rollback the update or to install the patch as affected pcs have locked themselves out.”

S.L. Kanthan : Blue screens of death all over the world, from airports and ATM machines to grocery stores and even vending machines!

Thanks, Microsoft! 🤡 #outage

BRICS should create alternative operating systems. Very dangerous for the world to rely on one company.

Max Tegmark : With their impeccable safety culture, never letting things get deployed before they’re properly tested, I’m confident that ⁦@Microsoft is ready to safely handle the smarter-than-human AI that they’re trying to build with ⁦@OpenAI

Sumit Singh Rajput : This is serious! How a single tech outage can bring the world economy to its knees.

A glitch in Microsoft’s server caused a computer failure around the world. Today, everything is blue

#Microsoft #Crowdstrike #CyberSecurity #CyberAttack #airportdiaries #cyberattacks

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Truth : CrowdStrike, Not Microsoft, Is Responsible For Global IT Outrage!

This appears to be complete misunderstanding of the global IT outage that’s happening only to systems and cloud services based on Microsoft Windows, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Global IT Outage Caused By CrowdStrike, Not Microsoft

Let me start by simply pointing out that the global IT outrage that started on Friday, 19 July 2024, was caused by CrowdStrike, not Microsoft.

Soon after the outage occurred, CrowdStrike announced (and again) that it was caused by a bug in an update to its Falcon threat detection system.

The IT outage notably did not affect all Microsoft customers and users, only those who purchased and installed CrowdStrike Falcon, which is an “endpoint detection and response” software. This kind of software is designed for large organisations, and that is why this global IT outage is mainly affecting those organisations.

The scale is massive, because CrowdStrike is a leading provider of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) software. However, home users and small business users are not affected, because they rely on the built-in Windows Defender software, or consumer-grade software from the likes of Norton and McAfee.

Blaming Microsoft for the buggy update that CrowdStrike issued would be like blaming BMW for defective third-party tyres that leak air, and asking the automotive company to replace or fix those tyres.

Fact #2 : Microsoft Denies Responsibility For Global IT Outage

A Microsoft spokesperson has officially denied responsibility for the global IT outage caused by the CrowdStrike update:

CrowdStrike update was responsible for bringing down a number of IT systems globally. Microsoft does not have oversight into updates that CrowdStrike makes in its systems.

Fact #3 : Global IT Outage Caused By Bug In CrowdStrike Update

As CrowdStrike explained (and again), the infamous Windows Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) that is caused by a bug in an update meant for Windows-based systems.

The outage was caused by a defect found in a Falcon content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This was not a cyberattack.

We are working closely with impacted customers and partners to ensure that all systems are restored, so you can deliver the services your customers rely on.

CrowdStrike further confirmed that the buggy code was introduced in a single channel file – C-00000291.sys, with the timestamp of 0409 UTC.

As former Google engineer Arpit Bhayani explained, the buggy code was trying to access an invalid memory location, triggering a panic and causing the BSOD.

I saw many engineers blaming the outage on Microsoft 🤦‍♂️ SWEs blaming without knowing the root cause is concerning.

It is not Microsoft, it is Crowdstrike who released an update for Windows that had a bug. The patch runs in Kernel mode to monitor system activity at a low level.

Because it was running in Kernel mode, the buggy code was trying to access an invalid memory location that triggered a panic and which showed Blue Screen of Death.

The name of the driver file that had the buggy update is “C-00000291.sys”, deleting it fixes the issue and unfortunately this needs to be done manually.

Microsoft has nothing to do with it.

Deleting the file, or replacing it with the previous or newer version, fixes the problem. However, it has to be done manually, as the affected computers and servers have “bricked” and cannot be remotely accessed.

Fact #4 : Microsoft Is Supposed To Vet Driver Updates

While Microsoft may not be responsible for the bug in the CrowdStrike update, some cybersecurity experts believe that it may hold some responsibility.

Costin Raiu who worked at Kaspersky for 23 years and led its threat intelligence team, says that Microsoft is supposed to vet the code and cryptographically sign it. This suggests that Microsoft may have also missed the buggy code in the CrowdStrike Falcon kernel driver update.

It’s surprising that with the extreme attention paid to driver updates, this still happened. One simple driver can bring down everything. Which is what we saw here.

Raiu also noted that past updates to Kaspersky and Microsoft’s own Windows Defender antivirus software have also triggered similar Blue Screen of Death crashes in previous years.