Israeli firm NSO Group’s military-grade spyware Pegasus was used to target 50,000 phones for potential hacking by governments, media investigation has found. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2021/07/18/takeaways-nso-pegasus-project/] Apart from journalists and rights activists, the targets also include 14 heads of states/governments including French President Emmanuel Macron and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/20/heads-of-state-pegasus-spyware/] The technology is so efficient that it can sidestep even the Apple iPhone’s famed security and WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption.

Very few would have access to the Pegasus user’s manual, but here’s a manual for the rest:

*What’s spyware?
A kind of malicious software which collects information from the target’s computer, smartphone or any digital device.

*Which information?
Earlier, there were wiretaps on phones, letting a third-party listen on. Spyware can access much more:
--emails, social media posts, call logs, messages on encrypted chat apps such as WhatsApp or Signal (they are end-to-end encrypted, meaning no leak in between, but spyware hacks them at the end itself)
--contacts, user names, passwords, notes and documents (photographs, videos too)
--advanced spyware can activate microphones and cameras and spy on you using your device

*What’s Pegasus meant for?
NSO sells it only to governments and state agencies, to help them spy on terrorists and big-league criminals. (Terrorists too use spywares, but of other firms.) The media investigation has found that it has been misused (it’s not established by whom) to target journalists, rights activists and others not in good books of rulers. That would be a violation of a non-criminal’s privacy and a symptom of dictatorship.

*Is my phone vulnerable?
Hardly any phone – not even the iPhone – is safe. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/07/19/apple-iphone-nso/]

*Is my phone hacked?
Difficult to find out. Spyware works stealthily. If you are in the US, you are safe from at least Pegasus – NSO ensures it cannot be used on numbers of the US, Israel’s most critical ally.

*Any safety tips?
Not much beyond the basic cybersecurity advisory. Avoid suspicious links. Passwords should not be predictable, should be changed frequently. Keep your devices updated to latest software updates from the manufacturer. Older devices with outdated operating systems are particularly vulnerable.

How it works:
France24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp9C3eKcLdY

Primers:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/07/18/what-to-know-spyware-pegasus/

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/18/what-is-pegasus-spyware-and-how-does-it-hack-phones

https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/pegasus-spyware/14604/

https://www.vox.com/recode/22583617/apple-iphones-pegasus-nso-hacks