The Spyware Governments Use to Silence Dissent

Journalists, activists, and human rights defenders are being targeted and silenced daily by authoritarian governments that fear losing power. One of the deadliest tools used against them is Pegasus—a powerful cyber-surveillance weapon that puts lives at risk.

In this interview, I sit down with Laurent Richard, founder of Forbidden Stories and co-author of Pegasus. His team broke the story on Pegasus spyware and built a global network to safeguard journalists working on dangerous stories. Learn how Pegasus operates, the fight to protect freedom of the press, and how we can combat digital surveillance before it’s too late.

00:00 CyberSurveillance is a Military Weapon
01:19 Forbidden Stories
04:28 Global Spyware Threat
05:17 How Forbidden Stories Broke The Pegasus Story
15:40 The Danger of Intelligence Spyware
22:59 Privacy is Essential for Democracy
26:09 How to Begin Change
29:55 CyberSurveillance Needs Regulation
32:39 This is Where We Are
34:47 Governments Have a Vested Interest in Spyware
39:44 Hope Remains
43:04 There is a Lot to Do
47:37 The Safe Box Network
52:20 Conclusion

Cyber surveillance is a military weapon wielded against civilians, actually putting human lives in danger. We must protect journalists, activists, dissidents, and all vulnerable individuals from powerful, corrupt organizations as they risk everything to expose the truth. Together, we must signal to the world that we demand a future where technology serves us—free from the fear of surveillance.

Special Thanks to Laurent Richard

Pegasus: How a Spy in Your Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy:

Brought to you by NBTV team members: Lee Rennie, Sam Ettaro, Will Sandoval and Naomi Brockwell

To support NBTV, visit:
(tax-deductible in the US)

Visit our shop!

Our eBook "Beginner's Introduction To Privacy:

Beware of scammers, I will never give you a phone number or reach out to you with investment advice. I do not give investment advice.

Watch this podcast on Odysee!

________________________________________________________________________
Here are a bunch of products I like and use. Using these links helps support the channel and future videos!

Recommended Books:

Beginner's Introduction To Privacy - Naomi Brockwell

Permanent Record - Edward Snowden

What has the government done to our money - Rothbard

Extreme Privacy - Michael Bazzel (The best privacy book I've ever read)

No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State - Glenn Greenwald

Some of my favorite products to help protect your privacy!

Faraday bag (signal stopping, to protect your fob, credit card, computer, and phone)

Data Blocker (if you're charging your phone in an unknown port, use this so that no data is transferred)

Camera tape (electrical tape is the best tape for covering phone and computer cameras)

USB-C to ethernet adapter:

Privacy Screens (use your phone and computer in public? Keep your information safe!)

Computer: (Search for the size right for your computer)

Phone: (Search for the size for your phone, decide whether you want glass or plastic!)

[ThisisFerrariKhan]

I’ve been talking about Pegasus for at least two years now. Good to see it’s getting out to the larger public now.

[macbitz]

Nothing to hide only works if the folks in power share the values of you and everyone you know entirely, and always will. (Quote by Tom Scott).

[emdee]

The storage facility my sister uses now has cameras and only a virtual kiosk. There is no human staffing anymore. They apparently use some type of facial recognition technology also, although the clients were not informed of that. She just walked in, and a few moments later the kiosk activated. Then the virtual clerk on the screen called her by name. She had not identified herself nor her unit number. This level of prying seems to be too much, as the customers were not made aware of the use of that technology, nor did they give consent to being photographed and having images retained like that.

[stardreamer]

38:08-39:44 - Thanks so much for saying this. People will do nothing about surveillance because they don’t know what harm surveillance can do. I think this is the most important part of the video because you explain why people should care.

[jozsefizsak]

I can't thank you enough for the wonderful work you do in bringing so much important information to our attention. You're standing up for the countless millions of people around the world whose freedom and safety are at risk. Realistically, it's all of us now since the ultimate repercussions of madness don't respect borders.

[appleguyzer]

I wish that the term "democracy" could be replaced by the term "free society". A democracy is two wolves and a lamb, deciding what to eat for lunch.

[Roatanlovafmplliiiak]

Thank you Naomi, for your never ending commitment to personal privacy and security.
Its never been more important than it is now and in the UK, people are getting arrested and jailed for "free think."
Interviews like this make me realise it's 100 times worse than we thought...

[etziowingeler]

Extremely important interview, great work!!

[natemarx]

The Aussie Queen keeps blessing our notifications.

[ronaldmusser]

The sad thing is we're watching you on YouTube.So they know we're watching you on youtube

[PhotographerSteve]

Thank you and please keep up with the outstanding work Naomi! I have one question do you know if SAT phones- satellite phones- are immune or more difficult to enter then our cell phones in other words might that be a better option for journalist?

[LeonEdwinsHeart]

Keep on resisting and sharing the word!

[peeniewalli]

Captive conversation/interview. Made me recall some other stuff. for example. : t=31:34 (...)Apple says newest iPhone is safe, no worries when Pegasus-story publish.
Some time before/around year(?) I started noticing f.e. the first laptops with a plastic slidingmechanism. Acting as a self-operated cameralens‐cover !
So yeah, some tech-companies where kinda saying ;
'We do everything to make our products better and safer.'((😂)) And to tackle the latest spyware we present here our LAST upgrade! ((🤭)). That's all we can do. Oh and send you an email to inform that your device has the Pegasus spy installed. Good luck ! (😢)

[Zarathustran]

34:26 "if governments work for us we need to know what they're doing". Lol aw how quaint. All governments regard their subjects as a resource to be managed (because the impulse to govern over another only arises to advance one's own interests at the expense of theirs). You do know why this is, don't you? It's because civilization itself gives rise to intraspecies predation by obviating our omnivorous need to hunt.

How many other species domesticate and farm others? So natural selection supported ingroup cohesion by evolving us into different races because we're more barbaric than intelligent. Sapiens' most adaptive skill is duplicity and ego is our adaptive mechanism for surviving competitive predation (by bluffing competence). The reason all these heads of state were not informed by their own intelligence services is ego self-transparency. In other words, sapiens have so little integrity that we actually regard our own duplicity as competence.

[imacmill]

Back when trump had his assination moment, with the 'ear nick' thing, I posted a one sentence comment offering my opinion about what happened on the stage as it relates to the SS agents who piled on him. Within 30 seconds, YouTube issued me a 'hate speech' warning and suspended my ability to comment anywhere for 24 hours. There was not a single word in my comment that would trigger such a castigation, so it makes me think I'm on to something about that day.

[OscarPerez-oxsq]

What if someone invents an app to randomize data and personal info on the phone by taking or faking personal info from thoundsan of people and randomize it so the tracker cannot guess who you are by hidding on a haystack

[SteveSines-pc]

"Freedom is scary. Get over it." - The Civil Rights Lawyer

[Forever_Roaming]

The extent that KYC - (Know Your Customer) collects so much info should be curtailed to the very Minimum, Not Maximum. Also, it should be an "Opt-In" Choice, Not Automatic!

[waltertx.]

Pegasus will be used regularly and regardless of what great intentioned people do💙💙💙

[daniel]

In Brazil, they release my thoughts for everyone around me. I'm totally isolated. I did do nothing wrong. It happens for two decades, but I've just realised five years ago.