Notices by Adfichter (adfichter@infosec.exchange)

👋 👋 Bye Bye Microsoft...morgen enthülle ich welche Einheit der Schweizer Bundesverwaltung definitiv ab Oktober 2026 nicht mit Microsoft 365 arbeiten wird.

The big tech company META has an ad running on the swiss newspaper "le temps" since several days... promoting centralised age verification.

they push for age verification through google and apple on the app store level. they outsource and sell it as privacy-preserving solution...

this is no joke.

in the promoted link they write:

"Over the past year, more than half of U.S. states have introduced app-store age legislation of this kind, with Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, and California already enacting versions of it — driven largely by parents. Momentum is also building in Washington, where the App Store Accountability Act is advancing through Congress."

no not driven by parents...driven by the lobbying of META!!

here is the promoted blogpost of Meta: https://about.fb.com/news/2026/06/how-to-verify-age-online/?utm_campaign

my take on this you can read here:

https://www.republik.ch/2026/04/10/ctrl-warum-das-social-media-verbot-fuer-teenager-zum-albtraum-wird

Du nutzt einfach eine Wetter-App....und landest dann im Datensatz der Polizei, die dann nebenbei erfährt, wo du sonst im Web surfst? Auch wenn sie eigentlich einen Täter sucht und du offensichtlich nicht derjenige bist?

Wieder einmal mehr exzellente DataBroker-Recherche von @roofjoke und @sebmeineck und dem Bayrischen Rundfunk.

Fachleute haben es schon vermutet, jetzt belegen Recherchen von netzpolitik.org und Bayerischem Rundfunk exklusiv: Auch in Deutschland nutzt die Polizei Daten der Werbe-Industrie. Mindestens zwei Landeskriminalämter haben sich von kommerziellen Anbietern Daten beschafft.

Dahinter steckt das oftmals illegale Geschäft der Databroker. Erhoben werden solche Daten angeblich nur zu Werbezwecken, doch über Databroker werden sie zur Handelsware. In die Hände der Datenhändler gelangen sie über Tracking-Firmen, abgesaugt von populären Apps – und in der Regel ohne Wissen der Betroffenen.

https://netzpolitik.org/2026/daten-schwarzmarkt-deutsche-polizei-nutzt-offenbar-rechtswidrig-databroker/

wow, this is new: Marked “confidential,” the letters went out to some of America’s most powerful companies in the spring of 2025. Written by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for Palestine, the letters warned more than a dozen U.S. firms and two charities that she might soon name them in a U.N. report for “contributing to gross violations of human rights” by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank.

Among her targets: Alphabet, Amazon, Caterpillar, Chevron, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft and Palantir.

According to investigations of Reuters her letters so alarmed the U.S. companies that at least two sought help from the White House, according to a Reuters investigation into the U.S. campaign against Albanese and the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Despite U.N. insistence that she had diplomatic immunity, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Albanese for “writing threatening letters” to the companies and urging the ICC to investigate.

That means 2 of those companies -Alphabet, Amazon, Caterpillar, Chevron, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft and Palantir- have urged to take action against Albanese and her report.

So it is not Trump first who impose sanctions against people working for international institutions. The US companies ASKING FOR IT.

I really want to know which 2 companies are meant... Unfortunately the reporters from Reuters didn't figure it out.

https://www.reuters.com/investigations/trumps-war-global-justice-court-staff-un-face-terroristgrade-sanctions-2026-02-06/

WTF

„Die EU-Kommission knickt ein und sendet ein fatales Signal: Wenn Tech-Konzerne bei Verstößen gegen die EU-Digitalregeln keine Konsequenzen zu fürchten haben, bleiben Gesetze wie der DMA wirkungslos. Das Ausmaß der digitalen Abhängigkeit von den USA wird hier sehr deutlich: Statt ihre eigenen Regeln durchzusetzen, lässt sich die EU offenbar aus den USA unter Druck setzen und schwächt damit den Schutz ihrer Bürgerinnen und Bürger sowie demokratische Grundprinzipien."

https://www.lobbycontrol.de/pressemitteilung/von-der-leyen-stoppt-milliardenstrafe-gegen-google-kritik-von-parlament-und-zivilgesellschaft-125080/

SPIEGEL: Sie haben als Reaktion auf die Angriffswelle Veränderungen angekündigt. Was genau?

Whittaker: Wenn jemand zum ersten Mal eine Nachricht von einer unbekannten Nummer erhält, werden künftig zusätzliche Warnhinweise angezeigt. Das Annehmen neuer, unbekannter Kontakte wird in Zukunft nicht mehr mit einem einzigen Klick möglich sein und zwingend einen Warnhinweis enthalten. Wir prüfen noch weitere Ideen und werden dazu bald mehr bekannt geben. Und um es noch einmal klar zu sagen: Signal wird Nutzer niemals in einem zweiseitigen Chat kontaktieren, um sie nach ihrer PIN, ihrem Schlüssel oder anderen Informationen zu fragen.

(...)

SPIEGEL: Die Angreifer konnten zudem einfach den Profilnamen »Signal Support« verwenden und sich so einen scheinbar glaubwürdigen Anstrich geben. Warum verhindert Signal diesen Namensmissbrauch nicht?

Whittaker: Ein automatisches Blockieren bestimmter Profilnamen kommt für uns nicht infrage, denn das könnte womöglich ein Problem beheben, würde aber erheblich größere neue Probleme auslösen.

SPIEGEL: Welche?

Whittaker: Wir stehen bereits jetzt unter massivem Druck bestimmter Regierungen, Inhalte zu scannen, bevor sie verschlüsselt werden – einem Druck, dem wir weder nachgeben wollen noch nachgeben können. Das ginge nur, wenn die App mitlesen und proaktiv Inhalte filtern würde. Genau das lehnen wir kategorisch und prinzipiell ab. Und selbst, wenn wir »Signal Support« blockieren könnten, blockieren wir dann auch »Palestine Action«, weil Großbritannien uns dazu auffordert?

https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/signal-ist-die-app-noch-sicher-signal-chefin-meredith-whittaker-im-interview-a-c1090145-aad3-452b-9192-80316157594f

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@adfichter/116441740383855339

Since I’m constantly being asked to give an update on our case: the #Palantir lawyers are reading accurately all my LinkedIn posts (and are even integrating them into their legal submissions); we’re now at the ‘triplic’ stage (round 3). I won’t say any more about it for the moment. Until the final decision of the judge of the Zurich Commercial Court.

Hopefully very soon.

That said, we can announce some good news: we're nominated for the prestigious Zurich Journalism Award (12. may).

We = my fantastic colleagues from the WAV research collective: Jennifer Steiner, Lorenz Naegeli, Balz Oertli, Marguerite Meyer et moi from @republik_magazin

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@adfichter/116416203386633370

which is quite ironic...

since the humans are too expensive and replaced by AI bots in companies.

so we'll pay the "extra fee" then to talk to the expensive human worker.

don't forget: weakening europe is a declared goal of the national security strategy of the US government.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv16lq2rp1o

💥 💥 💥 Our case covered in the "Guardian" ‼️ ‼️ ‼️

Guardian is asking: "Why is US tech giant Palantir suing a small Swiss magazine?"

“Palantir repeatedly contacted different government agencies through different means … and tried to repeatedly get a foot into the door,” says Lorenz Naegeli

Many journalists have investigated Palantir, reporting for example on its contracts with the US federal government, or with the US’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE. But Republik and WAV’s work may have struck a nerve.

“It’s the first time [anyone] has published a story about Palantir that has a failure narrative,” says Adrienne Fichter, a tech journalist with Republik. “They didn’t get through and they were not good enough for Switzerland … That’s why they’re going for us, that’s why they’re suing us, they want to fight this narrative.”

Marguerite Meyer says: “I think Palantir doesn’t really mind moral criticism. That has been done heaps. But what our reporting shows is a bit of a failure to sell their products – I believe they really don’t like that.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/mar/20/us-tech-giant-palantir-swiss-magazine-wav

Die Fachanwendung IES NG soll folgende Fragen beantworten:

- Wie viele Verletzte gibt es?

- Was ist deren Zustand?

- Wo sind die Verletzten?

- Welche Gefahren bestehen auf dem Schadensplatz?

- Welche Einsatzkräfte stehen zur Verfügung?

- Welche Spitäler können die Patienten optimal versorgen?

- Welche Spitäler haben verfügbare Kapazitäten zur optimalen Versorgung der Verletzten?

Das IES NG verarbeitet also hochsensible Daten:

Patientendaten (Verletzte, Triage-Status, Diagnosen)

Einsatzdaten von Polizei, Rettungsdiensten, Armee

Kapazitäten von Schweizer Spitälern

Lagebilder bei Katastrophen und Grossereignissen

Ich weiss nun: Die Software wird also auf Microsoft Azure betrieben und deren Daten in den Microsoft-Rechenzentren gespeichert.

Weil: Microsoft die angeblich "zweckmässigste und kosteneffizienteste Option" sei.

Die Microsoft EntraID wird dabei zum Glück nicht verwendet (also die Anwendung kommt ohne Identitätsmanagement von Microsoft aus, was schon eine gewisses Risiko verringert). Dennoch: Microsoft hat als Infrastrukturbetreiber auf Azure immer den Masterschlüssel über Azure Key Vault (sofern genutzt), Zugang zu den virtuellen Maschinen, Zugang zu den Speichersysteme, Kontrolle über Netzwerk, Routing, Backups, und natürlich Möglichkeit zur Abschaltung via Kill Switch auf Infrastrukturebene.

https://dnip.ch/2026/03/16/das-schweizer-einsatzleitsystem-des-sanitaetsdiensts-laeuft-auf-microsoft-azure

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@adfichter/116234721614536779

Das ist nur "nur " in den spanischen News...

seit 1-2 Monaten.

Wo bleiben NYT, Guardian, @heiseonline @spiegel

just READ THIS.

"So how does a sophisticated data intelligence company respond to well-sourced investigative journalism based on official government documents?

By suing the journalists, of course.

But here’s the thing that makes this even more absurd: Palantir isn’t even claiming the articles are false. The company isn’t suing for defamation. It isn’t seeking damages. Instead, it’s invoking a Swiss “right of reply” statute, alleging that Republik didn’t give the company a sufficient opportunity to respond. Palantir wants the court to force the magazine to publish lengthy counter-statements to each article.

(....)

Now, thanks to the lawsuit, the story has gone international. The Financial Times is covering it. The European Federation of Journalists is covering it. A UK member of parliament has already cited the Republik investigation during a debate on British defense contracts with Palantir, using the story to suggest that the British government “pivot away” from Palantir.

The Republik investigation itself is genuinely worth reading, and not just because Palantir desperately doesn’t want you to.

It paints a picture of a company that spent seven years working every angle to get Swiss federal agencies to buy its products—approaching the Federal Chancellery during COVID, pitching the Federal Office of Public Health on contact tracing, presenting anti-money laundering software to financial regulators, making repeated runs at the military—and getting turned away at every door. Sometimes embarrassingly, such as the Federal Statistical Office director apparently just ignoring Palantir’s outreach entirely.

For a company that brags about its ability to “optimize the kill chain” and whose CEO once told investors that “Palantir is here to disrupt… and, when it’s necessary, to scare our enemies and occasionally kill them,” getting politely rejected by the Swiss statistical office has to sting a little.

But suing the journalists who reported on it? When the entire basis of your lawsuit is “we want you to publish our talking points” rather than “anything you published was wrong,” it makes pretty clear you don’t actually have a substantive response to the reporting. If Palantir thinks the picture is false, the remedy is to demonstrate that the documents are wrong—not to drag a small magazine through expensive litigation until it capitulates or goes broke."

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/27/palantir-sues-swiss-magazine-for-accurately-reporting-that-the-swiss-government-didnt-want-palantir/

The Deal of OpenAI with the US-Department of War:

"For intelligence activities, any handling of private information will comply with the Fourth Amendment, the National Security Act of 1947 and the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act of 1978, Executive Order 12333, and applicable DoD directives requiring a defined foreign intelligence purpose."

Make sure you delete your ChatGPT Account today.

https://openai.com/index/our-agreement-with-the-department-of-war/

How tenaciously Palantir courted Switzerland

The controversial tech company Palantir provides surveillance technology to militaries and intelligence services around the world.

In Switzerland, however, its pitches have been rejected by both government authorities and the army. Internal documents have now revealed why.

Our articles from December 2025 finally available in english and paywall-free!

Because of THIS article (there is another one) Palantir is suing us.

Please read and spread it. And if you want donate and support us, you can donate us for this specific article without subscribing.

We are commited to journalistic standards, we have a huge documentation and provided lots of evidence to the court.

https://www.republik.ch/2026/02/18/how-tenaciously-palantir-courted-switzerland

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@adfichter/116096675687873613

Palantir doesn't want policymakers and decisionmakers or anyone to read this article...

Jaja Microsoft und Google werden vor US-Gericht für euch kämpfen, wenn dann die US-Vorladungen reinflattern und die Daten abgefragt werden...So wird uns das versprochen. In Verträgen. Im Marketing-Material von Big Tech.

Ein Student und Journalist aus UK protestierte. Google gab alle seine Daten weiter.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/google-sent-personal-and-financial-information-of-student-journalist-to-ice/

The war waged by the tech authoritarian oligarchy against the media has reached a new level:

#Palantir is suing us. Us, the Republik Magazin.

A small Swiss media company, funded by readers, founded in 2018 and free of advertising. I am not aware of any other media company globally that Palantir is currently targeting so aggressively.

What is this about? Together with my wonderful colleagues at the WAV research collective Jenny Steiner, Lorenz Naegeli, Marguerite Meyer, and Balz Oertli, we published a two-part series on Palantir's activities in Switzerland on December 8 and 9.

Using an extensive corpus of documents – which we obtained thanks to the Freedom of Information Act – we were able to trace a sales campaign over a period of seven years. Palantir tried to get in with many federal authorities – and was rejected everywhere.

And we also found out that the Swiss Army Staff evaluated the software and came to the conclusion that the army should refrain from using Palantir products.

Among other risks, they feared that data would be passed on to the US authorities.

Palantir is not just any company. ICE uses its products to hunt down migrants in the US. The Israeli army IDF uses the software in its Gaza offensive. The British health authority NHS has made itself dependent on the products for data analysis during the pandemic. And CEO #AlexKarp displays inhuman and aggressive rhetoric towards Europe, while the company itself advertises the “optimization of the kill chain.”

These are all facts, repeatedly verified and published by renowned media outlets. Our research relating to Switzerland and Zurich is based on this.

In addition to analyzing documents, we also spoke to various sources – including Palantir executives here in Zurich. The quotes used were presented to them and approved. Of course, we always adhered to the high standards of journalistic work. We conducted a thorough fact check before publication.

But the company doesn't want us to write the truth.

After the US company owned by right-wing tech billionaire #PeterThiel dedicated an absurd blog post to us, claiming some misinformation (such as that they had not participated in official tenders with the federal administration, a point we never claimed. On the contrary: we spoke from the outset of attempts to establish contact, sales talks, informal meetings, business as usual), after the Global Director of Privacy & Civil Liberties (PCL) Engineering and contact person for Swiss media Courtney Bowman launched personal attacks against us in LinkedIn comments between Christmas and New Year (“partisan fear-mongering”), Palantir's Swiss lawyers demanded a counterstatement on December 29.

We rejected this in its entirety.

In January, they demanded the same thing again. We rejected it again.

And now we see each other in court.

But why all this?

Our research on the Swiss army report caused a huge international media response. The Guardian and the Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported on the Swiss army's rejection. Numerous financial portals and stock market magazines picked up our news (which could have consequences for the overvalued stock market company Palantir).

And Chaos Computer Club spokesperson Constanze Kurz presented our research to a huge audience at the renowned IT conference Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg at the end of December.

All of this is making Palantir nervous.

We have now submitted a comprehensive defense brief. We can substantiate all of our findings with several documents and publicly available media reports.

We trust in the rule of law and freedom of the press in this country.

In keeping with yesterday's event “Zurich, little Big Tech City” at the Gessneralle, where we first announced this news exclusively to the audience on site:

World politics will soon be negotiated in Zurich: freedom of the press, the facts about ICE, Trump, Israel, Karp, tech authoritarianism.

The truth.

All this at the Zurich Commercial Court.

We will not be intimidated. And we will keep you informed.

In der Schweiz formiert sich ein hochkarätiges Netzwerk für die digitale Unabhängigkeit. Das ist den USA-Vertretern ein Dorn im Auge. Behörden haben jetzt die Chance, mit gutem Beispiel voranzugehen.

https://gnulinux.ch/digitale-souveraenitaet-wird-zum-kampfbegriff

#Medienecho

An alle Journalist:innen, die wie ich Heavy-"Signal"-User sind:

"Einstellungen“ –> „Konto“ und dann den Schieberegler bei „Registrierungssperre“ aktivieren.

https://netzpolitik.org/2026/phishing-angriff-zahlreiche-journalistinnen-im-visier-bei-attacke-ueber-signal-messenger/