For digital spying technology, it’s a doozy of a case.
Pegasus is the latest example of how vulnerable we all are to digital prying.
Our phones store our most personal information, including photos, text messages and emails.
NSO Group didn’t respond to a request for comment, and the Justice Department declined to comment.
Here’s what you’re gonna wanna know about Pegasus.
What is NSO Group?
It’s an Israel-based company that licenses surveillance software to government agencies.
The software runs secretly on smartphones, shedding light on what their owners are doing.
Other companies provide similar software.
Hulio co-founded the company in 2010.
What is Pegasus?
Pegasus is NSO’s best-known product.
It can alsosecretly turn on a phone’s microphone and camerasto create new recordings, The Washington Post said.
Pegasus isn’t supposed to be used to go after activists, journalists and politicians.
In September, though, Applefixed a security hole that Pegasus exploitedfor installation on iPhones.
NSO Group’s software also runs on Android phones.
Security checkup
Why is Pegasus in the news?
The news sites confirmed the identities of many of the individuals on the list and infections on their phones.
Of those 37 phones, 34 were Apple iPhones.
The episode hasn’t helped Apple’s reputation when it comes to equipment security.
“We take any attack on our users very seriously,” Federighi said.
Whose phones did Pegasus infect?
Catalonia is seeking political independence from Spain, butSpanish police have cracked down on the independence movement.
In addition to Mangin,two journalists at Hungarian investigative outlet Direkt36had infected phones, The Guardian reported.
And six people working forPalestinian human rights groups had Pegasus-infected phones, Citizen Lab reported in November.
What are the consequences of the Pegasus situation?
These tools have also enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression," the Commerce Department said.
That suit came afterMeta’s WhatsApp sued NSO Group in 2019.
The Israeli government must approve export licenses for Pegasus.
Israel created a review commission to look into the Pegasussituation.
And on July 28,Israeli defense authorities inspected NSO officesin person.
The Nationalist Congress Party in Indiademanded an investigation of Pegasus use.
He argued that such tools otherwise will soon be used to spy on millions of people.
What does NSO have to say about this?
NSO acknowledges its software can be misused.
However, NSO strongly challenges any link to the list of phone numbers.
“Every allegation about misuse of the system is concerning me,“Hulio told the Post.
“It violates the trust that we give customers.
We are investigating every allegation.”
Pegasus “cannot be used to conduct cybersurveillance within the United States,” the company added.
NSO will attempt to reverse the US government’s sanction.
