Pegasus Project | All the Articles

NSO Group denied that Pegasus was used to target Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist killed in Turkey, or his family members. New evidence shows the spyware was actually used to target people close to Khashoggi, both before and after his death.

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Crédit : POMED, Licence CC BY 2.0

• journalist

At least 50 people close to the Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador were selected by a Mexican client of NSO Group before his election. Among ther are his wife, children, aides and doctor.

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Crédit : Gobierno Danilo Medina, Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• internal politics

What does the spyware from the Israeli company NSO consist of ? Installed remotely, invisible, it grants a complete access to any smartphone, including encrypted messaging apps.

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• technology

Pegasus has been used to target activists and their lawyers. Prominent human rights lawyers in numerous countries were among those in the Pegasus Project records, as well as well-known dissidents from Saudi Arabia and many other countries.

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Crédit : Jeanne Menjoulet, Licence Licence CC BY 2.0

• civil society

A leak of more than 50,000 phone numbers selected for surveillance by the customers of NSO Group shows how this technology has been abused for years. Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International had access to records of phone numbers selected in more than 50 countries.

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• general

The iPhone has enjoyed a reputation for high security for over a decade. And yet, as recently as June 2021, an activist's phone with the latest updates installed was infected with the Pegasus spyware.

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Crédit : Aaron Yoo, Licence CC BY-ND 2.0

• technology

The Guardian interviewed whistleblower Edward Snowden on July 19 about the findings of the Pegasus Project. Snowden calls for a global ban on the trade in infection vectors in order prevent commercial abuse of vulnerabilities in mobile phones.

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Crédit : Mike Mozart, Licence CC BY 2.0

• general

Of the 250 people with Azerbaijani numbers who were selected for surveillance with the Pegasus spyware, the largest single category were journalists, with 59 reporters, editors, and media company owners appearing on the list. Azerbaijan was not a known NSO Group client until now.

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• journalist

The Pegasus Project data includes the telephone numbers of 13 heads of state and heads of government. Political figures whose numbers appear in the list include the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, the prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

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Crédit : Paul Kagame, Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• diplomacy
• internal politics

Many critical journalists, including some who are today behind bars, were surveilled by the Moroccan authorities. French journalists working for Mediapart, Le Canard Enchainé, France 2 and France 24, were also targeted by the regime.

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• journalist

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, his advisors and at least five of his friends were selected with the Pegasus spyware. The surveillance lasted throughout the 2018 legislative campaign and at least until the summer of 2019, a few weeks after his defeat and resignation as party leader.

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Crédit : Slugpost, Licence CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

• internal politics

Perhaps the most notorious cyber surveillance company in the world, NSO, has established itself as the leader in phone surveillance over the past decade. Despite repeated scandals since 2016, it continues its ascent.

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• general

Carine Kanimba, the daughter of Rwandan activist Paul Rusesabagina, has been targeted with the Pegasus spyware since January 2021. Kanimba has been leading her family’s effort to free her father from prison following his abduction and imprisonment last year.

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Crédit : Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy University of Michigan, Licence CC BY-ND 2.0

• internal politics

In 2019, a phone number of French President Emmanuel Macron was selected for a possible infection with the Pegasus spyware. A phone number belonging to Charles Michel, while he was prime minister of Belgium, was also selected in 2019 by the Moroccan client of the company NSO Group.

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Crédit : Jacques Paquier, Licence CC BY 2.0

• diplomacy

Viktor Orbán’s government has deployed a new weapon in its war on the media in Hungary, using some of the world’s most invasive spyware against investigative journalists and the circle of one of the country’s last remaining independent media owners.

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• journalist

NSO Group is regulated by export control authorities in Israel. Several U.S. and European officials say they presume the company provides at least some information to the Israeli government about who is using its spying productsand what information they’re collecting.

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Crédit : Izhar Laufer, Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• general

The phone numbers of at leats 25 Mexican reporters, working for all major media in the country, were selected with the Pegasus spyware. Among them is Cecilio Pineda, an independent journalist selected soon before his murder in 2017.

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Crédit : Secretaría de Cultura Ciudad de México, Licence CC BY-SA 2.0

• journalist

Western Sahara is claimed by both Morocco and the Polisario Front, a rebel national liberation movement supported by Algeria. The issue is taboo and a real obsession for the monarchy of Mohammed VI. Activists, elected officials and even lawyers have been selected and targeted by a Moroccan client of NSO Group.

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• diplomacy
• civil society

About 30 Indian reporters have been spied on via Pegasus since 2016. Among them are critical voices, journalists in frequent contact with diplomats and the miliary, but also local reporters.

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• journalist

In France, fifteen ministers in Edouard Philippe's government were selected by a Moroccan client of NSO Group in 2019. The phonz numbers of a large number of personalities ranging from the far left to the far right have also been selected.

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Crédit : FDR - François de Rugy, Licence CC BY 2.0

• diplomacy

Almost 200 journalists worldwide were selected for surveillance with spyware. Journalists in 21 country, including both authoritarian and democratic regimes, appear in the records of phone numbers of the Pegasus Project.

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• journalist

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, an encrypted messaging service used by half a million users, was selected by an NSO client when the businessman was setting up his company in Dubai. Pavel Durov has grown popular with those who want to escape government surveillance and claims that Telegram is far more protective than its competitors.

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Crédit : Melies The Bunny, Licence CC BY-NC 2.0

• technology

Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, a Qatari businessman who owns both of the Paris soccer team PSG and sport channel BeIN Sports, was targeted by the Pegasus spyware in the middle of a diplomatic and commercial battle between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

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Crédit : PSG World ©, Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• diplomacy

The phone number of Princess Latifa, the daughter of the emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, appears in the Pegasus Projet data. The selection coincides with her dramatic escape from Dubai. The data also includes the phone numbers of the closest aides and friends of his ex-wife, Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, as she was moving to the UK in 2019.

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Crédit : Tiina Jauhiainen, Licence CC BY-SA 4.0

• internal politics

The Dalai Lama does not own a smartphone but that has not prevented him from being monitored through his relatives. In total, nearly twenty Tibetan activists, politicians and religious leaders in exile are on the list of numbers selected by an Indian client of NSO Group.

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Crédit : webted, Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• internal politics

In 2016, the French company Dassault sold 36 Rafale aircrafts to India for 7.8 billion euros. Two years later it became known as the "Rafale scandal" as suspicions of corruption hang over this contract. It was at that time that an Indian customer of NSO Group selected the businessman Anil Ambani, suspected of being one of the beneficiaries of the contract.

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Crédit : Ank Kumar, Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• diplomacy

Activists and journalists were selected by a Togolese client of NSO Group under the presidency of Faure Gnassingbé, who has been firmly in power since 2005. In total, more than 300 Togolese numbers appear on the list of potential targets of the Israeli spyware Pegasus.

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Crédit : Présidence Togolaise, Licence CC BY 2.0

• internal politics