Security News > 2022 > June > NSO Confirms Pegasus Spyware Used by at least 5 European Countries

The beleaguered Israeli surveillanceware vendor NSO Group this week admitted to the European Union lawmakers that its Pegasus tool was used by at least five countries in the region.

The disclosure comes as a special inquiry committee was launched in April 2022 to investigate alleged breaches of E.U. law following revelations that the company's Pegasus spyware is being used to snoop on phones belonging to politicians, diplomats, and civil society members.

"The committee is going to look into existing national laws regulating surveillance, and whether Pegasus spyware was used for political purposes against, for example, journalists, politicians and lawyers," the European Parliament said in March 2022.

Once installed, the spyware provides support for a broad range of capabilities that allows the operator to track the victim's whereabouts, eavesdrop on conversations, and exfiltrate messages from even encrypted apps like WhatsApp.

"The use of Pegasus does not require cooperation with telecommunication companies, and it can easily overcome encryption, SSL, proprietary protocols, and any hurdle introduced by the complex communications worldwide," the Council of Europe noted in an interim report.

"It provides remote, covert, and unlimited access to the target's mobile devices. This Modus Operandi of the Pegasus clearly reveals its capacity to be used for targeted as well as indiscriminate surveillance."

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/06/nso-confirms-pegasus-spyware-used-by-at.html