Your new best friend is your ultimate betrayer

Times of Oman

7 hours ago

In the summer of 1999 — at the dawn of the digital age — world leaders gathered at the Millennium Assembly on IT and Knowledge with a bold vision: governments must go digital, and wealthy nations would help the rest achieve it.
As a member of Oman's delegation, I watched as the idealism of 'global cooperation' overshadowed a darker reality.
'Once we embrace e-government, privacy disappears,' I warned our delegation head. 'Our data won't belong to us anymore.' He dismissed it as paranoia.
Two decades later, that warning has become prophecy — and Israel, with its deep ties to Western tech and intelligence, sits at the heart of this surveillance empire.
The Backdoor Revolution
The post-9/11 era erased any illusions. The U.S. government compelled American tech giants to embed surveillance backdoors in their exports — officially for 'national security,' but effectively a global license to spy.
Israel, America's closest intelligence-sharing ally, gained indirect access to this data through agreements like ECHELON and joint cyber units.
'Israel doesn't just benefit from U.S. surveillance — it actively shapes it,' says Avi Meyer, a former Israeli cybersecurity official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
'When the NSA or FBI demand backdoors from Apple or Google, Israel's intelligence agencies are rarely far behind in accessing the same pipelines.'
From Pegasus to Exploding Pagers
Israel's cyber warfare capabilities reached terrifying new heights in September 2024, when dozens of pagers carried by Hezbollah operatives simultaneously exploded across Lebanon.
This unprecedented attack proved that modern surveillance doesn't just monitor — it can physically eliminate targets using their own devices.
The pager explosions demonstrated Israel's ability to:
* Weaponise ordinary electronics by remotely triggering battery explosions
* Compromise supply chains by implanting lethal capabilities during manufacturing
* Escalate cyber warfare into the physical realm with deniable precision strikes
Combined with Israel's Pegasus spyware — used against journalists and activists worldwide — and AI-powered tracking in conflict zones, this marks a complete evolution of warfare.
'First they read your messages through Pegasus. Then they detonate your devices,' says Avi Cohen (pseudonym), a former cyber defence official.
'The Hezbollah pager attack was Israel showing the world there are no limits anymore.'
Hypocrisy in the Tech Cold War
While Israel and the West weaponise technology, they wage a relentless campaign against Chinese tech firms, branding Huawei a 'spying tool' and TikTok a 'data pipeline to Beijing.'
Yet Western-made operating systems (Windows, iOS, Android) and platforms (Facebook, X, Google, WhatsApp) dominate global infrastructure — with no scrutiny of how Israel exploits them.
The 5G rollout exposed the double standard:
2019: Huawei pioneers affordable 5G. Western media floods with warnings of 'radiation risks' and 'Chinese brainwashing.' The U.S. pressures allies to ban it.
2024: Western firms like Ericsson and Nokia deploy 5G. The health warnings vanish.
The Stakes: Digital Colonialism or Sovereignty?
The 1999 dream of e-government has metastasised into a global surveillance grid controlled by a U.S.-Israel tech-intelligence axis. The Hezbollah pager attacks proved that even basic electronics can be turned against their users.
Three steps to reclaim control:
1. Build Sovereign Tech – Develop domestic alternatives to foreign operating systems and hardware.
2. Secure Supply Chains – Create national standards for critical tech components.
3. Assume Compromise – Treat all foreign tech as potentially weaponised until proven otherwise.
The Ultimate Spy — and Assassin
We stand at a crossroads: Continue to depend on hostile technologies, or follow China's lead in building sovereign digital infrastructure.
The pager attacks weren't just a warning—they were a preview of our vulnerable future.
But the most dangerous spy isn't a pager. It's the smartphone in your pocket.
Your phone, smartwatch, smart ring, or band knows everything about you:
* Your habits, routines, and movements
* What you eat, when you sleep, and when you wake
* Who you meet and what you discuss (via microphone access)
* Your health data, financial activity, and biometrics
This, I believe, is how Israel assassinated Iran's top officials last week. No human spies — just the targets' phones betraying them.
Every foreign-made device in your home isn't just spying — it's a sleeper agent awaiting activation.
The pager explosions were merely the opening scene.
Tomorrow's assassinations won't be delivered by human hands — but through the glowing rectangle that never leaves your side.
Your phone doesn't love you. It's just biding its time.