Researchers say Thai pro-democracy activists hit by spyware
2 years, 5 months ago

Researchers say Thai pro-democracy activists hit by spyware

The Hindu  

Cybersecurity researchers reported details Monday of cases where Thai activists involved in the country’s pro-democracy protests had their cell phones or other devices infected and attacked with government- Investigators of the internet watchdog groups Citizen Lab, Thailand’s Internet Law Reform Dialogue, or iLaw, and Digital Reach said at least 30 individuals — including activists, scholars and people working with civil society groups — were targeted by an unnamed government entity or entities for surveillance with Pegasus, a spyware produced by the Israeli-based cybersecurity company NSO Group. “Citizen Lab believes there is a fundamental challenge for civil society,” John Scott-Railton of Citizen Lab said in an online presentation at a briefing in Bangkok. Apple said it sought a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services or devices to “to prevent further abuse and harm to its users.” Apple’s notifications to customers of spyware infections are a crucial part of a defense strategy against such digital surveillance, Scott-Railton said. “There is longstanding evidence showing Pegasus presence in Thailand, indicating that the government would likely have had access to Pegasus during the period in question,” researchers said in the report.

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History of this topic

Has Serbia hacked activists’, journalists’ phones? Why?
4 days, 17 hours ago

Has Serbia hacked activists’, journalists’ phones? Why?

Al Jazeera  

Amnesty International has revealed that phones belonging to Serbian activists and journalists have been hacked by Serbian intelligence and police using Israeli spyware and other mobile device forensics tools. In October, 2023, Amnesty International’s Security Lab revealed that two prominent journalists had been targeted via their iPhones with Pegasus spyware. It is not known who was responsible., Amnesty International’s Security …

Thai court dismisses activist’s suit against Israeli spyware producer over lack of evidence
1 month ago

Thai court dismisses activist’s suit against Israeli spyware producer over lack of evidence

Associated Press  

BANGKOK — A Thai court on Thursday threw out a lawsuit brought by a pro-democracy activist which alleged spyware produced by an Israeli tech firm had been used to hack his phone. The NSO Group welcomed the ruling, saying it reaffirmed “the lack of evidence to support the claims against our company.” “We remain committed to the responsible use of …

US rolls out visa restriction policy on people who abuse spyware to target journalists, activists
10 months, 2 weeks ago

US rolls out visa restriction policy on people who abuse spyware to target journalists, activists

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Monday it is rolling out a new policy that will allow it to impose visa restrictions on foreign individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware. Such targeting has been linked to arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings in the most egregious of cases.” Biden issued a executive order nearly a year ago …

Journalists, lawyers and activists hacked with Pegasus spyware in Jordan, forensic probe finds
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Journalists, lawyers and activists hacked with Pegasus spyware in Jordan, forensic probe finds

Associated Press  

Israeli-made Pegasus spyware was used in Jordan to hack the cellphones of at least 30 people, including journalists, lawyers, human rights and political activists, the digital rights group Access Now said Thursday. The U.S. government was unpersuaded and blacklisted the NSO Group in November 2021, when iPhone maker Apple Inc. sued it, calling its employees “amoral 21st century mercenaries who …

Indian government is targeting high-profile journalists with Pegasus: Report
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Indian government is targeting high-profile journalists with Pegasus: Report

Hindustan Times  

India's government has again targeted high-profile journalists with Pegasus spyware, Amnesty International and The Washington Post said in a joint investigation published Thursday. "Increasingly, journalists in India face the threat of unlawful surveillance simply for doing their jobs," said Donncha O Cearbhaill, head of Amnesty International's Security Lab. Adani's conglomerate shed more than $100 billion in value earlier this year …

Pegasus Spyware found on Indian journalists’ phones after Apple alert: Amnesty International
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Pegasus Spyware found on Indian journalists’ phones after Apple alert: Amnesty International

The Hindu  

The Wire news website’s founder editor, Siddharth Varadarajan, and another journalist in India were targeted with Pegasus spyware this year, the nonprofit Amnesty International’s Security Lab was able to determine after testing their devices, it announced on Thursday. The journalists had received an alert from Apple that they were being targeted by “state- Separately, TheWashington Post reported that after the …

India’s opposition leaders’ iPhones targeted by state-sponsored hackers | Explained
1 year, 1 month ago

India’s opposition leaders’ iPhones targeted by state-sponsored hackers | Explained

The Hindu  

On October 31, more than half a dozen Indian opposition leaders and prominent journalists received a notification from Apple, warning them their iPhones were targeted by state- The iPhone maker confirmed it had sent the threat notifications, but clarified later that it hadn’t named the Indian government in its nor if the hacking attempts were a success. A spokesman later …

How government agencies use commercial spyware to target opponents | Explained
1 year, 2 months ago

How government agencies use commercial spyware to target opponents | Explained

The Hindu  

The story so far: Between May and September, former Egyptian MP Ahmed Eltantawy was targeted with Cytrox’s Predator spyware sent via links on SMS and WhatsApp. While spyware may be used for commercial purposes like advertising, malicious spyware is used to profit from data stolen from a victim’s device. Commercial spyware, such as the Pegasus spyware from the NSO group, …

Thai activists sue government agencies for allegedly using Pegasus spyware against them
1 year, 6 months ago

Thai activists sue government agencies for allegedly using Pegasus spyware against them

Associated Press  

BANGKOK — Two prominent Thai activists filed a lawsuit on Tuesday accusing the government of using the internationally notorious Pegasus spyware to infiltrate their mobile devices during a period of political unrest almost three years ago. Law reform advocate Yingcheep Atchanont and human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa accuse nine state agencies in the administration of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha of …

Press groups: Spyware again used against Mexican activists
1 year, 8 months ago

Press groups: Spyware again used against Mexican activists

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Press freedom groups said Tuesday the Mexican government apparently continued to use Pegasus spyware to infect telephones of human rights activists as recently as late 2022, despite a pledge by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to stop such spying. “So far in the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at least three human rights activists and …

Centre bought new Pegasus-type spyware Cognyte to ‘snoop’ says Congress
1 year, 8 months ago

Centre bought new Pegasus-type spyware Cognyte to ‘snoop’ says Congress

Live Mint  

The Congress on Monday accused the BJP-led Central government of trying to purchase a Pegasus-style spying software at a cost of ₹986 crore. It will cost you and us ₹986 crore to buy Cognyte spyware," alleged senior party leader Pawan Khera. The senior politician posed several questions to the Narendra Modi-led government about the ‘new spyware idea’ and whether any …

Biden signs executive order restricting use of commercial spyware
1 year, 8 months ago

Biden signs executive order restricting use of commercial spyware

Al Jazeera  

The decision comes as governments around the world face accusations of using spyware to target dissidents. United States President Joe Biden has signed an executive order restricting the government’s use of commercial spyware technology that has been utilised to target political dissent around the globe. “Democratic governments also have confronted revelations that actors within their systems have used commercial spyware …

Europe’s Spyware Scandal Is a Global Wakeup Call
2 years, 1 month ago

Europe’s Spyware Scandal Is a Global Wakeup Call

Slate  

Multiple European governments are using advanced surveillance tools to spy on their own people, according to a damning new European Parliament report. “Some went even further and embedded spyware in a system deliberately designed for authoritarian rule.” The European Parliament launched this inquiry after the 2021 publication of the Pegasus Project, a spyware investigation led by 16 media outlets around …

In Pegasus battle, the fight for surveillance reform
2 years, 5 months ago

In Pegasus battle, the fight for surveillance reform

The Hindu  

A year has passed since the disclosures about the Pegasus Project revealed the threat to India’s democracy. But on July 19, 2021, the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, referring to “press reports of 18th July 2021”, refused to directly address the claims made by the Pegasus Project; he stated that the existing legal framework prevents unauthorised surveillance. …

Pegasus spyware targeted Thai democracy activists: Report
2 years, 5 months ago

Pegasus spyware targeted Thai democracy activists: Report

Al Jazeera  

NGO investigation finds controversial malware on the phones of 30 activists and civil society leaders after they receive an Apple security warning. At least 30 Thai activists involved in pro-democracy protests were victims of Pegasus spyware during a government crackdown on dissent, according to an investigation by a group of internet watchdog organisations. Canadian group Citizen Lab and Thai NGOs …

Spain detects Pegasus spyware on PM, defence minister’s phones
2 years, 7 months ago

Spain detects Pegasus spyware on PM, defence minister’s phones

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say the phones of the two top officials were tapped in an ‘illicit and external intervention’ last year. Spanish authorities have said that the mobile phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Minister of Defence Margarita Robles were tapped using Pegasus spyware in an “illicit and external” intervention. “There is no evidence that there was other tapping after those …

Powerful ‘Pegasus’ spyware found on Downing Street phone, researchers claim
2 years, 8 months ago

Powerful ‘Pegasus’ spyware found on Downing Street phone, researchers claim

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The researchers said they had identified “multiple suspected instances of Pegasus spyware infections” on devices …

Israel lawmakers outraged over claim police used NSO spyware
2 years, 11 months ago

Israel lawmakers outraged over claim police used NSO spyware

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday called …

Pegasus used to target El Salvador activists, journalists: Report
2 years, 11 months ago

Pegasus used to target El Salvador activists, journalists: Report

Al Jazeera  

Citizen Lab watchdog says Israeli NSO Group’s spyware used by operator working in country since early 2020. The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said on Wednesday it had identified an operator of the spyware working exclusively in El Salvador and targeting journalists and activists, many of whom were investigating alleged state corruption. While the researchers could not conclusively determine the …

SC panel probing Pegasus snooping scandal issues public notice; here's what it says
2 years, 11 months ago

SC panel probing Pegasus snooping scandal issues public notice; here's what it says

India Today  

The Supreme Court-appointed committee to investigate the alleged use of Pegasus spyware to snoop on citizens has asked people who suspect their phones were targeted to contact them by January 7. In a public notice, the panel said any person who believed their phone/instrument has been infected with Pegasus can approach them and get their device examined. HERE'S WHAT THE …

India’s top court asks: Did gov’t use Pegasus spyware to snoop?
3 years, 1 month ago

India’s top court asks: Did gov’t use Pegasus spyware to snoop?

Al Jazeera  

The court said the possible violation of citizens’ right to privacy and free speech compelled it to seek out the truth. India’s Supreme Court has ordered a panel of experts to investigate whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration used the Pegasus spyware to surveil opposition leaders, activists, tycoons, judges and journalists. The top court’s bench of three judges headed by …

Israel’s Pegasus: Is your phone a ‘24-hour surveillance device’?
3 years, 3 months ago

Israel’s Pegasus: Is your phone a ‘24-hour surveillance device’?

Al Jazeera  

The Pegasus scandal is the latest episode in the dystopian science fiction thriller that we are presently living. Between June 2020 and February 2021, the iPhones of nine Bahraini activists – including two dissidents exiled in London and three members of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights – were hacked using the Pegasus spyware that was developed by NSO Group, …

Pegasus snooping row: Centre against filing detailed affidavit, cites national security in SC
3 years, 3 months ago

Pegasus snooping row: Centre against filing detailed affidavit, cites national security in SC

Firstpost  

The Centre told a Supreme Court bench that it has nothing to hide and that’s why the government has on its own said it will constitute a committee of domain experts to look into these allegations New Delhi: The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that it does not wish to file a detailed affidavit on a batch of …

There is an urgent need for a moratorium on sale of spy tech
3 years, 3 months ago

There is an urgent need for a moratorium on sale of spy tech

Al Jazeera  

In July 2021, an investigation by a consortium of media outlets revealed that several governments used phone malware supplied by an Israeli firm to spy on journalists, activists, opposition figures and heads of state. The group’s first and so far only transparency report released in June 2021 states: “The Defense Export Controls Agency of the Israeli Ministry of Defense strictly …

Direct Centre To Disclose Use Of Pegasus Spyware : 5 Journalists On Potential Snoop List Move Supreme Court
3 years, 4 months ago

Direct Centre To Disclose Use Of Pegasus Spyware : 5 Journalists On Potential Snoop List Move Supreme Court

Live Law  

In a significant development in the Pegasus spyware controversy, five journalists who are reported to be in the potential list of snoop targets have filed writ petitions in the Supreme Court contending that the unauthorized use of surveillance by government agencies have violated their fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.This is the first instance of persons approaching the. In a …

Pegasus spyware row: Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking court-monitored probe on August 5
3 years, 4 months ago

Pegasus spyware row: Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking court-monitored probe on August 5

India Today  

The Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the Pegasus spyware controversy on Thursday, August 5. Read: PM Modi has put a weapon in our phones, it's anti-national: Rahul Gandhi on Pegasus row “The targeted surveillance using military-grade spyware is an unacceptable violation of the right to privacy which has been held to be …

Pegasus row: 500 people, groups write to CJI seeking SC intervention in snooping matter
3 years, 4 months ago

Pegasus row: 500 people, groups write to CJI seeking SC intervention in snooping matter

India TV News  

Over 500 individuals and groups have written to Chief Justice of India N V Ramana seeking immediate intervention of the Supreme Court in the alleged Pegasus snooping matter and declare a “moratorium on the export, sale, transfer and use of Pegasus” spyware in the country. The letter urged the top court to direct the Centre and the Israeli firm NSO …

A case of manufactured outrage that won’t get far
3 years, 4 months ago

A case of manufactured outrage that won’t get far

Live Mint  

This piece is part of a Mint Debate on Pegasus snooping row. This spyware works by infiltrating mobile phones and using their location and personal data even while surreptitiously controlling microphones or cameras without the user knowing. The reality that ‘liberals’ seem unwilling to accept is that in this age of technological disruption, tools that can cause citizens much suffering …

Pegasus: Israel to review allegations of misuse and licensing process
3 years, 5 months ago

Pegasus: Israel to review allegations of misuse and licensing process

India TV News  

Amid the Pegasus snooping case backlash, Israel has established a committee to review the allegations of misuse of the NSO group's surveillance software and hinted at a possible "review of the whole matter of giving licences". “The defence establishment appointed a review committee made up of a number of bodies," lawmaker Ram Ben-Barak, the head of Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and …

Pegasus: Israel to review allegations of misuse and licensing process
3 years, 5 months ago

Pegasus: Israel to review allegations of misuse and licensing process

India TV News  

Amid the Pegasus snooping case backlash, Israel has established a committee to review the allegations of misuse of the NSO group's surveillance software and hinted at a possible "review of the whole matter of giving licences". “The defence establishment appointed a review committee made up of a number of bodies," lawmaker Ram Ben-Barak, the head of Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and …

Pegasus spyware issue | PIL in Supreme Court seeks SIT probe
3 years, 5 months ago

Pegasus spyware issue | PIL in Supreme Court seeks SIT probe

The Hindu  

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a Special Investigation Team into reports of government using Israeli software Pegasus to spy on its critics, Opposition leaders, activists, journalists and even on its own Ministers. The petition filed by Supreme Court advocate Manohar Lal Sharma asked “whether the Constitution allows the Prime Minister and his Minister to snoop …

The Pegasus saga and the legality of surveillance in India | In Focus podcast
3 years, 5 months ago

The Pegasus saga and the legality of surveillance in India | In Focus podcast

The Hindu  

An international group of news publications are reporting that a spyware known as Pegasus has been used to spy on politicians, journalists, and activists in at least 10 countries. Reports from the group, which includes The Wire in India, The Guardian in the U.K., and Washington Post in the U.S. among others, suggest that in India, at least 40 journalists, …

Rahul Gandhi, Prashant Kishor, ex-EC Lavasa on list of potential spyware targets
3 years, 5 months ago

Rahul Gandhi, Prashant Kishor, ex-EC Lavasa on list of potential spyware targets

The Hindu  

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, former election commissioner Askhok Lavasa, election strategist Prashant Kishor, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee and Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Prahlad Patel appeared on a leaked list of “potential” or actual targets for spying by Israeli company NSO's Pegasus spyware, news website The Wire and other international publications reported on Monday. Two mobile phones used …

Several Delhi-based diplomats, staff of international NGOs on Pegasus list
3 years, 5 months ago

Several Delhi-based diplomats, staff of international NGOs on Pegasus list

The Hindu  

While reports of Indian politicians and journalists being targets of surveillance operations carried out with the help of Pegasus spyware took centre-stage on Monday, French newspaper Le Monde reported that several Delhi-based diplomats were also on the list of potential targets for phone hacking from 2017-2021, along with a phone associated with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. U.S.-based Washington Post, …

Over The Top Allegations To Malign Indian Democracy: Centre On Reports About Using Pegasus Spyware For Snooping Journalists
3 years, 5 months ago

Over The Top Allegations To Malign Indian Democracy: Centre On Reports About Using Pegasus Spyware For Snooping Journalists

Live Law  

The Central Government on Monday denied all 'over the top allegations' of using Pegasus Spyware to snoop on opposition leaders, journalists, etc.The newly appointed IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, while making a statement in this regard in Lok Sabha today, said,"The basis of this report is that there is consortium which has got access to leaked database of 50,000 phone numbers. …

Probe: Journalists, activists among firm’s spyware targets
3 years, 5 months ago

Probe: Journalists, activists among firm’s spyware targets

Associated Press  

BOSTON — An investigation by a global media consortium based on leaked targeting data provides further evidence that military-grade malware from Israel-based NSO Group, the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire outfit, is being used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents. NSO Group denied in an emailed response to AP questions that it has ever maintained “a list …

Phones of Politicians, Journalists ‘Hacked Using Pegasus’; Govt Denies Claim, Says ‘No Concrete Truth’
3 years, 5 months ago

Phones of Politicians, Journalists ‘Hacked Using Pegasus’; Govt Denies Claim, Says ‘No Concrete Truth’

News 18  

The Pegasus spyware was used to hack phones of Indian politicians, journalists and activists, said a report quoting an investigation by a group of 17 global media organisations, a claim that was denied by the central government. The government said in its response that “no unauthorised interception” has taken place and that the report is not only “bereft of facts” …

Israeli spyware used to target journalists, activists: Report
3 years, 5 months ago

Israeli spyware used to target journalists, activists: Report

Al Jazeera  

The reports say ‘authoritarian governments’ abused software sold by a private Israeli firm to hack mobile phones worldwide. Activists, politicians and journalists from around the world – including from Al Jazeera – were targeted in a surveillance operation using software sold by the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, according to an investigation into a massive data leak by The Guardian, …

Citizen Lab: Spyware by Israel’s Candiru used to target activists
3 years, 5 months ago

Citizen Lab: Spyware by Israel’s Candiru used to target activists

Al Jazeera  

The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, which tracks illegal hacking and surveillance, said at least 100 activists, journalists and government dissidents across 10 countries were targeted with spyware produced by an Israeli company called Candiru. At least 100 activists, journalists and government dissidents across 10 countries were targeted with spyware produced by an Israeli company called Candiru, according to cybersecurity …

New online platform maps Pegasus spread
3 years, 5 months ago

New online platform maps Pegasus spread

The Hindu  

An online database about the use of the spyware Pegasus was recently launched by the Forensic Architecture, the Amnesty International and the Citizen Lab to document attacks against human rights defenders. In a statement on July 3, Amnesty said the interactive platform — Digital Violence: How the NSO Group Enables State Terror — showed the connections between “ ‘digital violence’ …

Report: gov’t spyware targets phones of Al-Jazeera reporters
4 years ago

Report: gov’t spyware targets phones of Al-Jazeera reporters

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dozens of journalists at Al-Jazeera, the Qatari state-owned media company, have been targeted by advanced spyware in an attack likely linked to the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a cybersecurity watchdog said Sunday. Through push notifications alone, the malware instructed the phones to upload their content to servers linked to the …

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