Pegasus iPhone spyware is now a tool of war

Posted:
in iPhone
Researchers claim that at least a dozen victims in Armenia were targeted with Pegasus in the first recorded use of the iPhone spyware in a military conflict.

NSO Group, makers of spying tool Pegasus
NSO Group, makers of spying tool Pegasus


The NSO Group's spyware tool has previously been used by governments who were allegedly trying to hack the phones of European Commission officials. Its use became so significant that in 2021, Apple began sending notifications to iPhone users it suspected had been hacked.

Despite the NSO Group being blacklisted as a US national security risk, it has continued developing new ways to hack iPhones and other smartphones.

Now according to The Guardian, researchers claim that a United Nations official, plus journalists and human rights activists, have been hacked. The dozen victims are alleged to have been hacked by the Azerbaijan government over its conflict with Armenia.

The hacking took place between October 2020 and December 2022, and appears to be linked to the two countries' military conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Researchers at AccessNow as well as Amnesty International and more, say that former Armenia foreign minister Anna Naghdalyan was hacked at least 27 times. The hacks and the timing of them reportedly put Naghdalyan "squarely in the most sensitive conversations and negotiations related to the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis."

Naghdalyan told researchers that she had "all the information about the developments during the war on [her] phone," at the time.

"Even if you have the most secure system on your phone, you cannot be secure," she said.

The research names other victims including journalists Karlen Aslanyan and Astghik Bedevyan. Five of the victims have chosen to remain anonymous, but the researchers say one is a UN representative.

According to The Guardian newspaper, the researchers say the hacking was done by a customer of the NSO Group. The publication cannot conclusively identify which one.

A spokesperson for the NSO Group says it has not been sent the new report. However, the spokesperson said that the company investigates all credible reports of its spyware being abused.

It's not known which governments or agencies are using the Pegasus spyware, although the US FBI is reported to have considered and rejected its use.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    dk49dk49 Posts: 281member
    Has Apple been able to patch Pegasus? 
    darkvadercaladanian
  • Reply 2 of 10
    pascal007pascal007 Posts: 121member
    BiC said:
    dk49 said:
    Has Apple been able to patch Pegasus? 

    Apple should bring all manufacturing back to America.  If you want to control the ecosystem tight.  This international nonsense must come to an end.

    That won't change anything. The hackings happen because of software weaknesses and the software is US-designed.

    radarthekatmuthuk_vanalingambyronl
  • Reply 3 of 10
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,481member
    BiC said:
    dk49 said:
    Has Apple been able to patch Pegasus? 

    Apple should bring all manufacturing back to America.  If you want to control the ecosystem tight.  This international nonsense must come to an end.
    What? It literally has nothing to do with where it was manufactured. The spyware was developed in Israel and it exploits the weaknesses. 


    muthuk_vanalingamwilliamlondonbyronl
  • Reply 4 of 10
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,284member
    pascal007 said:
    BiC said:
    dk49 said:
    Has Apple been able to patch Pegasus? 

    Apple should bring all manufacturing back to America.  If you want to control the ecosystem tight.  This international nonsense must come to an end.

    That won't change anything. The hackings happen because of software weaknesses and the software is US-designed.

    Isn’t Pegasus an Israeli company with the morals of a jackal….

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/world/middleeast/israel-pegasus-spyware.html

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/03/nso-group-pegasus-spyware-us-blacklist


    bloggerblogdarkvadermuthuk_vanalingamAlex_Vwilliamlondon
  • Reply 5 of 10
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,331member
    pascal007 said:
    BiC said:
    dk49 said:
    Has Apple been able to patch Pegasus? 

    Apple should bring all manufacturing back to America.  If you want to control the ecosystem tight.  This international nonsense must come to an end.

    That won't change anything. The hackings happen because of software weaknesses and the software is US-designed.

    Most of the time yes, but there are hardware exploits and bugs. You’d be surprised how many issues there are in port standards such as USB and lightning, or sometimes even CPU design issues. 
    But yeah, I suspect the majority of the exploits here are software.
    edited May 2023 williamlondon
  • Reply 6 of 10
    waveparticlewaveparticle Posts: 1,497member
    BiC said:
    netrox said:
    BiC said:
    dk49 said:
    Has Apple been able to patch Pegasus? 

    Apple should bring all manufacturing back to America.  If you want to control the ecosystem tight.  This international nonsense must come to an end.
    What? It literally has nothing to do with where it was manufactured. The spyware was developed in Israel and it exploits the weaknesses. 



    It has everything to do with where it is manufactured.  The software is coded in the same place as the machine should be built.  This is a no brainer.  You think country A can't infiltrate country B.  Of course they can, but it would be much harder to go in A if it's all in A.  Those who know have been saying this for years.  Forget about feelings.
    No way every country will manufacture its own things! Even US can not do it. 
    williamlondonbyronl
  • Reply 7 of 10
    waveparticlewaveparticle Posts: 1,497member
    Without saying what are being hacked, this report is a propaganda manipulating victimization accusation. 

  • Reply 8 of 10
    jfabula1jfabula1 Posts: 157member
    Its time to go back to rotary analog systems. Hahahaha hackers dont know what it is.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,954member
    Always was…
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