Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus

While the recent EO banning commercial spyware use within the USG included a list of previous directives and legislative activity leading up to the directive, the real back story is found at The Pegasus Project  – the global investigative reporting collaboration which broke the story on the NSO Group and the company’s “zero-click” surveillance software product, Pegasus. FRONTLINE, a U.S.-based investigative journalism program which is part of The Project Pegasus consortium of investigating organizations, recently released a two-part documentary – Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus – that followed the entire investigative effort, including the moment the global journalistic outlets (including The Gaurdian, Le Monde, and The Washington Post) pressed the “publish” button simultaneously on the story and the backlash:

“FRONTLINE and Forbidden Films, the documentary arm of Forbidden Stories, investigate the powerful spyware Pegasus, sold to governments around the world by the Israeli company NSO Group. This two-part series, part of the Pegasus Project, examines how the hacking tool was used on journalists, activists, the wife and fiancée of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and others.”

An Overview of the Pegasus Project, the NSO Group, and Pegasus Surveillance Software

We provided an initial overview of The Pegasus Project and the NSO Group in July of 2021:

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2021/07/21/project-pegasus-global-news-organizations-reveal-expansive-investigation-of-nso-group-zero-click-surveillance-software/

In May 2022, we provided a global update on the NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware:

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/05/09/the-nso-groups-pegasus-spyware-a-global-update/

Further Prominent Reports on the NSO Group and the Commercial Spyware Marketplace

December 2022

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/12/29/2022-year-end-review-cybersecurity/

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/12/20/the-cyber-surveillance-thrives-despite-companies-setbacks/

October 2022

• Russia Suspected in Truss Phone Hacking Scandal

September 2022

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/09/06/cyber-matters-draw-israel-and-saudi-arabia-closer-together/

August 2022

• CEO of Blacklisted Israeli Spyware Maker NSO Steps Down

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/08/02/the-cyber-mercenary-business-is-booming/

June 2022

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/06/22/the-future-of-cyber-conflict-the-market-for-global-cyber-surveillance-capabilities/

April 2022

• EU Officials Targeted with Pegasus Spyware
• UK Prime Minister, Catalan groups ‘targeted by NSO spyware’

In March, the Council of Foreign Relations offered the following interesting analysis:  How Israel’s Pegasus Spyware Stoked the Surveillance Debate

February 2022 

• Israel launches inquiry into police hacking claims
• Israel’s spreading NSO scandal derails Netanyahu’s corruption trial

January 2022

• Reports of the continuing uproar in Israel over police snooping.
• Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs  suspected espionage case related to the spyware. The Government of Finland had earlier reported that it had found NSO’s Pegasus spyware on diplomats’ phones.
• ‘CatalanGate’ Spyware Infections Tied to NSO Group
• Early reports by security researchers that Pegasus Spyware Targeted UK Prime Ministers and that EU Officials were targeted
• El Salvador denies responsibility for hacking journalists after report finds Pegasus spyware on their phones., with additional reporting at:  Pegasus Spyware Deployed Against El Salvador Journalists and Activists

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2022/01/18/are-initial-access-brokers-the-next-crime-target-for-governments/

December 2021

• NSO spyware used to hack Polish politicians, Khashoggi’s wife, others
• Nine State Department Phones Hijacked by Spyware

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2021/12/30/2021-year-end-review-cybersecurity/

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2021/12/27/whats-in-store-for-nation-state-cyber-activity-in-2022/

November 2021

• NSO’s Pegasus spyware found on the devices of six Palestinian activists

October 2021

• India’s Supreme Court Orders Pegasus Probe
• UK high court finds Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed hacked ex-wife’s phone using spyware

August 2021

• NSO Group facing renewed backlash after helping repressive Bahraini Government hack iPhones of politicians, activists

https://oodaloop.com/archive/2021/08/16/the-privatization-of-cyber-tools-and-operations-further-muddies-attribution-efforts/

July 2021

• Israeli Government Agencies Visit NSO Group Offices
• Macron Among 14 Heads of States on Potential Spyware List
• Amnesty Urges Moratorium on Surveillance Technology in Pegasus Scandal

March 2021

• DoJ Steps Up Investigation into NSO Group