The investigation into Pegasus found confirmation on WhatsApp
The results of the investigation would coincide with what the app found after an attack on some of its users in 2019. In that case, 1,400 people's phones were hacked in two weeks
Photo: via Unsplash The boss of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart said in an interview with the Guardian that the results of the new investigation on the Pegasus spyware of the Israeli company Nso, coincide with what the app has detected after an attack on some of its users in 2019 with the same malware .Cathcart also questioned Nso's reaction to the investigation, that the list of thousands of leaked phone numbers - and on which the allegations are based - is an exaggeration. The Whatsapp boss pointed out instead that the hacking of his app targeted 1,400 people in two weeks, exploiting a vulnerability in the platform.
The 2019 Whatsapp hack hit senior government officials from all over the world, including members of national security from countries allied to the United States. This incident prompted WhatsApp and Facebook to sue Nso the same year. Lawyers, journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents and diplomats would have been targeted through its software.
Pegasus is extremely easy to install spyware and infects phones via a click on a link or even without the need for any action on the part of the target. Once a system has been hacked it can extract photos, videos and chats, but it can also activate the device's recorder or camera to monitor its owner.
The investigation published last weekend shows that Pegasus has been used in many countries to spy on journalists, activists and politicians. Traces of spyware have been found in some phones.
Cathcart said the survey report, which was conducted by a consortium of 17 media organizations, is "very consistent" with what WhatsApp denied in 2019. The executive also called for more liability to spyware developers.
From what Nso claims, its clients, which it does not mention, are 60 intelligence, military and law enforcement agencies in 40 countries and are only allowed to use Pegasus to prevent and investigate crime and counterterrorism.
In response to Cathcart's comments, an NSO spokesperson told the Guardian that the company aims to create a safer world. Nso also sarcastically invited the executive director of Whatsapp to share alternative ideas to enable law enforcement to legally detect and prevent acts of pedophilia, terrorism and crime on end-to-end encrypted platforms.
Web - 2 hours ago
Ransomware attacks continue to increase
What Pegasus really is, the spyware everyone's talking about
Venice will not lose its UNESCO World Heritage status
Topics
Malware Privacy Policy globalData.fldTopic = "Malware, Politics, Privacy"
This opera is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
