Security News > 2021 > October > NSO Group's Pegasus malware was used to spy on Dubai princess's lawyers during child custody dispute

Cherie Blair tipped off a Jordanian princess that the royal's estranged husband, the Sheikh of Dubai, had deployed NSO Group's Pegasus malware against her and her lawyers, a series of explosive High Court judgments [PDFs] have revealed.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the absolute ruler of Dubai, was found to have ordered the deployment of one of the world's most potent malware strains against Princess Haya bint Hussein, his former wife and a member of the Jordanian royal family, during a bitter court battle over custody of their children.

NSO confirmed to the High Court that it had terminated its contract with the United Arab Emirates on 7 December 2020, costing it "Tens of millions of dollars".

The court case is the tip of the iceberg: the sheikh kidnapped two of his daughters during the 2000s after they attempted to flee from his control, according to a 2020 UK family court judgment.

Sheikh Al Maktoum sought to blame "The states of Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia" and even Jordan, Princess Haya's home country, for deploying Pegasus, as the president of the High Court's Family Division ruled in May. According to the judgement, the first inkling any of Princess Haya's team had that Pegasus was being used to spy on them through their personal devices was when Martyn Day, founder of London human rights law firm Leigh Day, contacted the princess's lead barrister, Baroness Fiona Shackleton.

Sheikh Al Maktoum did not fully engage in the High Court's fact-finding process, instructing his lawyers to walk out of the courtroom.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/10/07/pegasus_malware_princess_haya/