Your iPhone and the Pegasus spyware hack: What you need to know
Tech Republic Security
JULY 20, 2021
iPhones have been compromised by the NSO Group's Pegasus spyware. Should you be worried? That depends on who you ask.
Google’s Threat Analysis Group’s Spyware Research: How CSVs Target Devices and Applications
Tech Republic Security
FEBRUARY 14, 2024
In a new report from Google's Threat Analysis Group, the researchers detail how commercial surveillance vendors particularly use spyware and target Google and Apple devices.
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Trending Sources
Spyware scandal rocks Polish government
The Verge
DECEMBER 27, 2021
Several members of political opposition groups in Poland have produced evidence that they were hacked by Pegasus spyware, raising alarming questions about the Polish government’s use of the software. In both cases, traces of Pegasus spyware were found on the targets’ devices. a threat to “the rules-based international order”.
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Use This Tool to Check If Your Phone's Been Hacked by the NSO Group's Spyware
Gizmodo
JULY 20, 2021
If you’ve been watching the news this week you may have heard something about the NSO Group, an Israeli spyware firm that currently stands accused of helping bad actors to hack journalists, politicians, and human rights activists throughout the world. Read more.
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WhatsApp scores major legal victory over Pegasus spyware maker, forcing it to provide closely-guarded code
TechSpot
MARCH 3, 2024
WhatsApp has won a major legal victory in a US court over the Israeli company NSO Group, which makes a highly sophisticated cyber weapon called Pegasus. US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton has ordered NSO Group to hand over its code for Pegasus and other spyware products to WhatsApp – something. Read Entire Article
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Microsoft and Google join Facebook’s legal fight against infamous spyware vendor
The Verge
DECEMBER 22, 2020
A group of high profile tech companies including Microsoft, Google, Cisco, and VMWare have filed an amicus brief in support of Facebook’s legal action against NSO Group, Microsoft has announced. Now NSO Group is appealing to overturn the ruling, and it’s this appeal attempt that Microsoft and others are pushing back against.
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Microsoft files amicus brief with other tech giants in case against ‘dangerous’ NSO Group
GeekWire
DECEMBER 21, 2020
A group of tech companies including Microsoft today filed an amicus brief in a case brought by WhatsApp against NSO Group. Israel-based NSO Group is behind spyware called Pegasus that was used to access devices with just a phone call via WhatsApp. The Microsoft campus in Redmond. GeekWire File Photo).
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Google reports on a company selling spyware for Chrome, Firefox, and Windows Defender
TechSpot
DECEMBER 1, 2022
Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) reports that a Barcelona company sold spyware exploiting Chrome, Firefox, and Windows Defender vulnerabilities to conduct contract surveillance on target PCs.
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Apple Calls Out 'Mercenary Spyware' Vendors Enabling State Surveillance
SecureWorld News
APRIL 15, 2024
Apple has escalated its fight against the commercial spyware industry enabling state actors to conduct highly-targeted cyberattacks against journalists, activists, politicians, and other high-risk individuals around the world. Apple also seems to have been giving notifications to that same high-risk group who they know have been targeted.
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CISA Issues Alert to Secure iPhones Against Pegasus Spyware Zero-Days
SecureWorld News
SEPTEMBER 13, 2023
Alarming details have emerged about the exploitation of two Zero-Day vulnerabilities to deploy NSO Group's Pegasus commercial spyware on iPhones. This could be worsened if the details of the exploit become public knowledge, allowing other groups to utilize similar tactics." In response to this threat, the U.S.
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Apple patches two zero-day flaws abused to install the Pegasus spyware
TechSpot
SEPTEMBER 8, 2023
Watchdog group Citizen Lab recently found two zero-day iPhone vulnerabilities that allow Pegasus spyware a way into the device. The flaws were used to spy on an unnamed individual employed by a Washington DC civil society organization, abusing an exploit chain the researchers referred to as BLASTPASS. Read Entire Article
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Dozens of Al Jazeera journalists targeted in apparent iOS spyware attack
The Verge
DECEMBER 21, 2020
36 personal phones belonging to Al Jazeera journalists, producers, anchors, and executives were hacked in a spyware campaign between July and August 2020, a new report from Citizen Lab alleges. The attacks reportedly used Pegasus technology provided by the Israeli firm NSO Group, and are thought to be the work of four operators.
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Reckless abuse of surveillance spyware sold to governments (again)
Network World
JUNE 19, 2017
The latest example comes from Mexico, showing how powerful spyware was used to target journalists investigating high-level official corruption and human rights defenders investigating government-sponsored human rights abuses. Why target a kid? To spy on his mother. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US sanctions NSO Group, others, for trafficking spyware and exploits
TechSpot
NOVEMBER 3, 2021
It claims all four groups are engaged in activities "contrary to the national security or foreign. The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is updating its list of sanctioned entities with a document it plans to fully publish on Thursday, but is viewable in a PDF now.
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This Could Be the End for Surveillance Giant NSO Group
Gizmodo
DECEMBER 13, 2021
The clock may be running out for notorious Israeli surveillance for hire company NSO Group. Sources told Bloomberg that the company’s cumbersome mixture of unpaid debts and growing international scrutiny have made NSO a bloated pariah and is forcing its leadership to consider shutting down its Pegasus spyware unit. S… Read more.
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Amazon Web Services bans accounts linked with Pegasus spyware
The Verge
JULY 19, 2021
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has banned NSO Group, the company behind the Pegasus spyware program. Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge. Vice reported the ban this morning, the day after a sweeping report alleged Pegasus was used to target the phones of human rights activists and journalists.
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Senior EU Officials Targeted with NSO Spyware
SecureWorld News
APRIL 12, 2022
Software designed by the controversial surveillance firm NSO Group was used to target multiple senior officials of the European Commission in 2021, according to a new report from Reuters. With the news coming out that this hacking tool was used to target senior EU officials, what should the rest of the world do regarding NSO Group?
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WhatsApp Head Says New Pegasus Spyware Investigation Coincides With Its Findings From 2019 Attack
Gizmodo
JULY 24, 2021
WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart has said that findings from the new investigation into NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware coincide with what the app learned about an attack on its users in 2019. Cathcart also questioned NSO’s claim that a list of thousands of phone numbers central to the investigation is an exaggeration,… Read more.
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A New-ish Mobile Attack: Zero-Click Spyware
SecureWorld News
OCTOBER 24, 2022
The app then connected to a malicious server and downloaded spyware to the phone, listening in on calls and viewing text messages for nearly a year and a half. Behind the attack is spyware manufacturer NSO Group, which sells technology to governments and law enforcement agencies, Bloomberg reported.
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NSO Group's Spyware May Have Been Used to Target U.S. State Department Officials
Gizmodo
DECEMBER 3, 2021
Apple recently revealed a new policy that would notify users if their devices were the targets of a state-sponsored attack conducted using spyware from Israeli surveillance-for-hire firm NSO Group. Now, just weeks later, a new report from Reuters claims at least nine U.S. State Department officials found themselves on… Read more.
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Pegasus Spyware Discovered on Spanish PM's Phone
SecureWorld News
MAY 3, 2022
The highly controversial Pegasus spyware has been found on the mobile phones of Spain's prime minister Pedro Sánchez, as well as the defense minister Margarita Robles, according to the Spanish government. Pegasus spyware remains problematic around the world. Prior to being blacklisted by the U.S.,
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Apple Unveils 'Lockdown Mode' to Defend Against Spyware
SecureWorld News
JULY 8, 2022
Lockdown Mode is designed to protect users who could be targeted by "the most sophisticated digital threats," such as spyware developed by private companies like the highly controversial NSO Group. RELATED: Apple Sues 'Abusive State-Actor' NSO Group ]. Apple and NSO Group have a history. Department of State.
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US State Department phones were reportedly hacked by NSO spyware
The Verge
DECEMBER 3, 2021
At least nine employees of the US State Department working in or with Uganda had their iPhones hacked with spyware made by NSO Group, according to a report from Reuters. NSO has claimed that its spyware isn’t able to target US phone numbers (that is, numbers with a country code of +1).
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Israeli court rules in favor of NSO Group in legal fight with Amnesty International
TechSpot
JULY 14, 2020
Back in 2018, human rights group Amnesty International sued NSO in an Israeli court, alleging the latter was exporting spyware tools that end up in the hands of clients that have a penchant for abusing them to target certain individuals, including Amnesty activists. Naturally, NSO denied the accusations as unfounded.
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Amazon Cuts Off Service to NSO Spyware Firm Behind iPhone Hacks
Gizmodo
JULY 19, 2021
Amazon has cut off web hosting services for the NSO Group, an Israeli spyware firm that has been widely accused of aiding in the surveillance of journalists and political dissidents. Read more.
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Here’s how to check your phone for Pegasus spyware using Amnesty’s tool
The Verge
JULY 21, 2021
Amnesty International — part of the group that helped break the news of journalists and heads of state being targeted by NSO’s government-grade spyware, Pegasus — has released a tool to check if your phone has been affected. Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge.
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Snowden: People Who Bankroll the Spyware Industry Should Be in Prison
Gizmodo
JULY 27, 2021
Famed whistleblower Edward Snowden has a new blog on Substack and, naturally, he has some opinions about the recent NSO Group controversy: namely, that people who bankroll companies like it should see jail time. Read more.
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New analysis further links Pegasus spyware to Jamal Khashoggi murder
The Verge
DECEMBER 21, 2021
New forensic analysis indicates that representatives of the United Arab Emirates government installed Pegasus spyware on the phone of Hanan Elatr, wife of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, just months before her husband was killed. As a spyware company, NSO’s operations have long been shrouded in secrecy.
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Apple pulls no punches in lawsuit against 'amoral' NSO Group
Computerworld Vertical IT
NOVEMBER 24, 2021
Apple has punched back against the “amoral” surveillance as a service industry of smartphone snoopers, filing suit against the NSO Group and its owner, Q Cyber Technologies, and taking steps to further secure digital lives. Israeli firm NSO Group is a spyware firm that provides surveillance services to governments.
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Germany's federal police agency secretly purchased and used controversial spyware 'Pegasus'
TechSpot
SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
In the meeting, it confirmed that the BKA bought Pegasus software from NSO Group in 2019. German news outlet Deutsche Welle (DW) notes that the federal government held a closed-door session with the parliamentary Interior Committee of the Bundestag. The agency made the purchase in "the utmost secrecy" against the.
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NSO Group's Spyware Breached a Journalist's iPhone After Apple Sued
Gizmodo
APRIL 5, 2022
NSO Group, the creepy spyware firm known for selling its services to authoritarian governments throughout the world, is in trouble again. A new report shows that the company’s most notorious malware, Pegasus, was used to hack the iPhone of a Jordanian journalist in December. The hack occurred several weeks after… Read more.
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Pegasus spyware group blacklisted by the US government
The Verge
NOVEMBER 3, 2021
The US Department of Commerce has ordered American companies to not sell their tech to NSO, citing reports that the group’s Pegasus spyware is used against journalists, government officials, activists, and more. Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge. NSO isn’t the only company being added to the entity list on Thursday.
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US Adds Spyware Vendors to Entity List for Cyber Exploits Trafficking
SecureWorld News
JULY 20, 2023
The Commerce Department recently added four spyware vendors to its Entity List for their involvement in trafficking cyber exploits used to gain unauthorized access to information systems. This move targets the activities of spyware vendors that pose a serious threat to the privacy and security of individuals and organizations worldwide.
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Another Secretive Spyware Firm Has Been Hacking iPhones
Gizmodo
FEBRUARY 3, 2022
As surveillance controversies have raged in connection with Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group, another, lesser known spyware firm from Israel has also apparently been hacking iPhones all over the world. Read more.
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A Notorious Spyware Firm Claims It Won't Help Hack UK Phones Anymore
Gizmodo
OCTOBER 8, 2021
NSO Group, the notorious Israeli spyware vendor, will no longer allow its clients to hack citizens of the United Kingdom, sources close to the company told The Guardian this week. The changes have been “hard-coded” into NSO’s infamous malware, Pegasus, and will make future targeting of UK-based phone numbers… Read more.
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Pegasus spyware used to target phones of journalists and activists, investigation finds
The Verge
JULY 18, 2021
The phones were on a leaked list of numbers discovered by Paris journalism nonprofit Hidden Stories and human rights group Amnesty International, according to the Post. It’s not the first time NSO’s Pegasus spyware has been accused of being part of a larger surveillance campaign.
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Restructuring at Controversial NSO Group: Will It Make a Difference?
SecureWorld News
AUGUST 25, 2022
Israeli spyware company NSO Group has experienced quite a bit of controversy in the last few years. Its spyware product, Pegasus, has been used by various criminals and nation states to target individuals of interest, such as activists, politicians, and business leaders. After being blacklisted by the U.S.,
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How NSO Group's iPhone-Hacking Exploit Works
Gizmodo
DECEMBER 22, 2021
For years, the Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group has sparked fear and fascination throughout the international community via its hacking tools—the likes of which have been sold to authoritarian governments throughout the world and used against journalists, activists, politicians, and anybody else unfortunate enough to… Read more.
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Pegasus Spyware Used to Target 30 Pro-Democracy Activists in Thailand
SecureWorld News
JULY 18, 2022
The controversial Pegasus spyware continues to stay in the news cycle, as a new report from the Citizen Lab details how the technology was used to target pro-democracy activists in Thailand. The increase in surveillance also means the use of Pegasus spyware. Pegasus spyware in Thailand.
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NSO Group’s Spyware Reportedly Used in Attempted and Successful Phone Hacks of Journalists and Activists
Gizmodo
JULY 18, 2021
A list of more than 50,000 phone numbers and a subsequent investigation has led a consortium of 17 news organizations to believe that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was used to attempt or successfully carry out hacks on the phones of journalists, human rights activists, and more. Read more.
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Stealth Falcon group uses custom spyware, fake journalists to target UAE dissidents
Network World
MAY 30, 2016
Meet Stealth Falcon, a sophisticated and likely state-sponsored cyberespionage group, which is hell bent on conducting targeted spyware attacks “against Emriati journalists, activists and dissidents.” The digital attacks started in 2012 and are still being carried out against United Arab Emirates (UAE) dissidents.
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Notorious iOS spyware has an Android sibling
Network World
APRIL 3, 2017
Security researchers have uncovered the Android version of an iOS spyware known as Pegasus in a case that shows how targeted electronic surveillance can be. Fortunately, the spyware never hit the mainstream. It was installed less than three dozen times on victim devices, most of which were located in Israel, according to Google.
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