Revealed Data leak uncovers global abuse of cyber-surveillance weapon

Spyware sold as means of tracking criminals and terrorists has been used to thwart opposing voices by authoritarian regimes

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Human rights activists, journalists and lawyers across the world have been targeted by authoritarian governments using hacking software sold by the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, according to an investigation into a massive data leak.

The investigation by the Guardian and 15 other media outlets suggests continuing abuse of NSO’s hacking spyware, Pegasus, which the company insists is only intended for use against criminals and terrorists.

Pegasus infects iPhones and Android devices to enable its operators to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones. The leak contains a list of more than 50,000 phone numbers that, it is believed, have been identified as persons of interest by clients of NSO since 2016.

The consortium’s analysis of the data identified at least 10 governments believed to be NSO customers which were entering numbers into a system: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, India, and the United Arab Emirates.

Mexico The phones of at least 26 journalists were among 15,000 selected for possible surveillance during Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidency