One of the findings of the investigation was that spyware was used to target the smartphones of the murdered Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s wife and fiancée
According to an investigation by The Washington Post and its media partners, the Pegasus spyware of the Israeli company NSO Group has been used to try and successfully invade 37 smartphones of journalists, activists and corporate executives around the world.
One of the findings is that spyware was used to attack the smartphones of the murdered Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s wife and fiancée. Their phone numbers appear on a list of more than 50,000 numbers, which the consortium says may be targets for government surveillance using Pegasus.
Also on the list are the phone numbers of overseas reporters from news organizations, including CNN, Associated Press, Voice of America, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Le Monde, Financial Times and Al Jazeera. Qatar.
A Bloomberg News spokesperson said: “The reported surveillance is an appalling violation of press freedom, and we strongly condemn it.”
The media consortium led by Forbidden Stories, a non-profit organization based in Paris, said it is revealing evidence extracted from mobile phones by the Amnesty International Security Lab through digital forensic analysis.
Pegasus sold to specific governments and law enforcement agencies can hack into mobile phones through links and secretly record emails, calls, and text messages. The Post said that in some cases, it can activate itself without the victim clicking on the link. The Post stated that it is unclear how many phones on the list are targeted or monitored.
In response to the consortium, NSO denied that its technology was used against Khashoggi and stated that the investigation contained flawed assumptions and factual errors.
Last month, NSO Group released its first annual “Transparency and Accountability Report”, stating that its products have been used by various countries to thwart major terrorist attacks and dismantle drug cartels.
The Post said that more findings will be announced in the next three days.
