"FRICTIONLESS SURVEILLANCE"...

Coming to an Internet camera near you.

I picked up on this story from a recent Darkhorse podcast with two of my favorite thinkers, Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying - “Professors in exile”. I’ve written many times about these two exemplary scientists and critical thinkers. For more background on them, go to: my archive and search “Bret Weinstein”, “Heather Heying” and/or “Darkhorse”. The video that prompted me to write this is entitled, “We’re Beyond Flocked: The 338th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying” and can be found in its entirety on YouTube. I’ve taken the liberty of copying a link to just the part where they discuss this “frictionless surveillance” issue in the following clip. (The earlier part of the video covers yet another example of their ongoing discussion regarding transgender men in women’s sports):

The video prompted me to do some digging and rather than doing the hard work when I have Copilot at my disposal, I decided to let it go ahead and do the work. Feel free to do your own fact checking as this “sounds” very much like a potential invasion on our rights to privacy that (once upon a time) was guaranteed under the provisions of the Bill of Rights. To say that this is “shocking” is truly an understatement. Should we be alarmed? I think so. I think there’s enough here to warrant a Congressional investigation. Check it out, see what you think, and write your Congress representative if you feel your privacy is important:

Here’s Copilot’s response to my query:

Toka is an Israeli cyber‑operations company whose products—according to a 2022 Haaretz investigation—allow government clients to locate, access, and manipulate internet‑connected cameras, including altering both live and archived footage without forensic traces. This capability is repeatedly described as unprecedented and “dystopian” by human‑rights experts.

Below is a structured, detailed breakdown of what is publicly reported, followed by a curated reference list.

🛰️ What Toka Reportedly Does

Toka’s technology—based on internal documents obtained by Haaretz—enables state clients to:

• Locate nearby internet‑connected cameras (security cameras, webcams, IoT sensors, even car media systems).

• Hack into those cameras and view live feeds.

• Alter live video in real time.

• Rewrite or falsify archived footage, erasing or modifying past recordings without leaving forensic traces.

• Mask on‑site activities during covert operations, enabling operational cover.

This goes beyond typical surveillance‑tech vendors, which generally collect or intercept data; Toka is singled out as the only vendor whose product actively falsifies recorded surveillance footage.

🧩 Who Founded Toka & Who Uses It

• Co‑founders:

  • Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak

  • Former IDF Cyber Staff Chief Yaron Rosen

• Clients:

  • Works exclusively with state actors—government, intelligence, and law‑enforcement agencies, mostly in Western countries. (so far)

  • Confirmed contracts with the Israeli government valued at ~$6 million.

  • FinePrint reports UAE as a client as well.

• Regulation:

  • All sales require approval from the Israeli Defense Ministry.

• U.S. Government Use? The articles do not explicitly confirm U.S. government operational use, but Toka maintains offices in Washington, D.C., works with “state clients in the West,” and is backed by U.S. venture capital firms (Andreessen Horowitz, Dell Technologies Capital). Inference: This strongly suggests U.S. government engagement, but no source explicitly states operational deployment.

🛑 Human‑Rights Concerns

Human‑rights attorneys describe Toka’s capabilities as:

• “Dystopian”—because evidence could be fabricated or erased without detection.

• A threat to due process: individuals could be accused using video evidence that cannot be verified as authentic.

• A tool that could shield guilty parties or incriminate innocents.

🎥 Why This Matters

Haaretz reportedly framed Toka’s capabilities using real‑world intelligence cases—such as the 2010 Dubai Mossad assassination, where CCTV footage identified operatives—to illustrate how falsifying video could fundamentally alter accountability in covert operations. (see Reference List below)

📚 Reference List (Curated)

Each item includes the source and the relevant reporting:

1. Haaretz (Dec 2022 investigation) – Internal documents reveal Toka’s ability to locate, hack, and alter camera feeds (live + archived) without forensic traces. Referenced via summaries in: Truthout, Common Dreams, Jerusalem24, FinePrint.

2. Truthout (Dec 27, 2022) – Detailed summary of Haaretz findings; emphasizes video‑alteration capabilities and government‑only clientele.

3. Jerusalem24 (Dec 29, 2022) – Focus on IoT‑sensor exploitation and covert‑operation masking.

4. Common Dreams (Dec 27, 2022) – Human‑rights analysis; highlights risks of falsified evidence.

5. Raw Story (Dec 2022) – Reprint of Common Dreams article; reiterates human‑rights concerns.

6. FinePrint Surveillance Vendor Database (May 2026) – Independent research confirming Toka as the only vendor capable of active footage falsification; notes UAE client and regulatory oversight.

If you want to go deeper, do some digging…

Here’s a link to the X/Twitter poster that broke this story: Josh Walkos aka: Champagne Joshi