July 26, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – A collaborative investigation into the use of next-generation cyber surveillance software by government agencies, supposedly to be used to track terrorist targets, has revealed that the spyware was in fact employed to hack the smartphones of thousands of journalists, lawyers, businessmen, and politicians across 20 countries.
The technology in question, Pegasus, was designed and sold by Israel-based technology firm NSO Group, which sold and distributed the hacking software to the governments of eleven countries. But a report in The Guardian claimed that at least 10 of those states, including Saudi Arabia, India, and Hungary, abused the powers granted by the spyware.
The technology allows users to “infect” cell phones powered by Apple iOS and Android operating systems, giving access to the owner’s photographs and private messages, as well as the ability to hack a device’s microphone, camera, and geolocation facilities, completely covertly.
The joint investigation, run in partnership with 80 journalists from 17 media outlets in 10 countries and known as the Pegasus Project, was spearheaded by Parisian non-profit Forbidden Stories, with technical assistance provided by advocacy group Amnesty International.
Reports published by some of the media partners involved in the investigation, including the Washington
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