Tag Archive for: Pegasus

Pegasus spyware on State Department phones: What you need to know

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smartphone surveillance graphic

Angela Lang/CNET

It’s a doozy of a case in digital spying. Security researchers have revealed evidence of attempted or successful installations of Pegasus, software made by Israel-based cybersecurity company NSO Group, on 37 phones belonging to activists, rights workers, journalists and businesspeople. They appear to have been targets of secret surveillance by software that’s intended to help governments pursue criminals and terrorists.

One of the most powerful objections to Pegasus came from the US government, and now one reason for the wrath could have emerged Friday: The spyware was found on the phones of at least nine State Department employees whom Apple notified about the hack, Reuters reported. The officials were either based in Uganda or involved in matters associated with the African country, but it’s unclear who hacked the phones, the report said, citing unnamed sources. The New York Times corroborated the report, saying at least 11 employees were affected.

Pegasus has been a politically explosive issue that’s put Israel under pressure from activists and from governments worried about misuse of the software. In November, the US federal government took much stronger action, blocking sale of US technology to NSO by putting the company on the government’s Entity List. NSO has suspended some countries’ Pegasus privileges but has sought to defend its software and controls it tries to place on its use. 

Apple sued NSO Group in November, seeking to bar the company’s software from being used on Apple devices, require NSO to locate and delete any private data its app collected, and disclose the…

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Amnesty says NSO’s Pegasus used to hack phones of Palestinian rights workers

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An aerial view shows the logo of Israeli cyber firm NSO Group at one of its branches in the Arava Desert, southern Israel July 22, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

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JERUSALEM, Nov 8 (Reuters) – The mobile phones of six Palestinian rights workers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were hacked using Israeli technology firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, Amnesty International and internet security watchdog Citizen Lab said on Monday.

The new findings followed NSO’s blacklisting last week by the U.S. Commerce Department amid allegations its spyware targeted journalists, rights activists and government officials in several countries.

NSO, which voiced dismay at the U.S. move, exports its products under licences from Israel’s Defence Ministry and says it only sells to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and that it takes steps to curb abuse.

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London-based Amnesty and Toronto’s Citizen Lab said they had independently confirmed that Pegasus had been used to hack the Palestinian activists’ phones, after Front Line Defenders, an international rights group, began collecting data in October about the suspected hacking.

The Israeli Defence Ministry did not immediately comment on the new findings.

Asked about the allegations, NSO said: “As we stated in the past, NSO Group does not operate the products itself … and we are not privy to the details of individuals monitored.”

Three of the six people work for Palestinian rights groups that Israel designated as terrorist organisations last month, saying they had funnelled donor aid to militants. The groups named by Israel have denied the allegations.

Stopping short of blaming Israel for the alleged hacking, some of the groups whose workers were said to have been targeted demanded an international investigation.

“We don’t have evidence. We can’t accuse a certain party since we don’t have yet enough information about who carried out that action,” Sahar Francis, director of Addameer Organization, said at a news conference in Ramallah.

“The United Nations is responsible for human rights and for protecting…

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Pegasus a wake up call for journalists, says Pulitzer finalist

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A major shift is going on in journalism right now when technology, which was being seen an enabler, was being turned against journalists, said Bradley Hope, veteran investigative reporter and Pulitzer finalist. There is now a need for journalists to retrench from technology but still be available for sources and whistleblowers to reach them, added Mr Hope, whose phone was on the Pegasus spyware list.

Speaking at a virtual session on “Journalism in the Age of Surveillance” at the Asian College of Journalism on Friday, Mr. Hope said the Pegasus spyware issue showed widespread abuse of the system. “Once a country buys access to it [Pegasus], it can do anything with the spyware. Pegasus showed widespread abuse of the system. The company doesn’t monitor the use of it,” he said.

Mr. Hope said even though an individual practised the best computer security practices, their phones were vulnerable to the spyware. “It is a pertinent wake up call for journalism because never before have we been so vulnerable. The way this technology has become a powerful tool, you are leaving all the trails that you are trying to lose,” he said.

With people using their phones for everything, it was easier than ever before to access all of their information. “It’s a simple temptation for governments, people in charge to use these spyware to surveil on their enemies, political opponents, people, journalists any one at all,” the journalist said.

Mr. Hope said journalists in India and many other countries had to deal with these challenges of security as they don’t enjoy the same level of protection unlike in the U.K where he is based.

“It is an important moment in journalism for journalists to retrench from technology. Sometimes we need to leave our phone behind [while meeting sources]. I have started to look at my phone as a risk that I carry around all the time”. Explaining about the time he spent in the Middle East, he said many times, his sources would ask him to leave his phone elsewhere as they expected their phones to be a source of trouble.

He also said media organisations must also look at the ways of protecting their journalists. “It is critical how organisations buy their…

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US bans iPhone hacking firm NSO Group responsible for Pegasus attacks

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iPhone Hacking

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iPhone Hacking

The NSO Group is an Israel-based security firm dealing in hacking tools that law enforcement agencies use to hack smartphones. The company came under fire earlier this year. Security researchers found that attackers used the Pegasus family of hacking programs to target individuals. The Pegasus hack allowed nation-states to spy on iPhones without user knowledge via sophisticated attacks that leave no trace. A New York Times journalist recently detailed his experience with the hack. He explained that he had no way of knowing who hacked him or what they had stolen. All he knew was that they got into his iPhone. The NSO Group denied the reports every step of the way.

NSO’s denials apparently weren’t enough to convince the US government, though. The US has now placed the Israeli company on the infamous entity list. As a result, the NSO Group can’t do any business with American companies, whether on the hardware or software side.

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The US ban

The US announced on Wednesday that it added four companies to the entity list, including NSO Group. Israeli surveillance company Candiru is also on the list. Russia’s Positive Technologies and Singapore’s Computer Security Initiative Consultancy are the others. Both trafficked in hacking tools that threaten “the privacy and security of individuals and organizations worldwide.”

The commerce department said the new additions to the entity list are part of the Biden administration’s “efforts to put human rights at the center of US foreign policy, including by working to stem the proliferation of digital tools used for repression.” Here’s the part that concerns the NSO Group:

NSO Group and Candiru (Israel) were added to the Entity List based on evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers. These tools have also enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression, which is the practice of authoritarian governments targeting dissidents, journalists and activists outside of their sovereign…

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