EU lawmaker who investigated spyware abuses was hacked with Pegasus

The phone of a European politician was hacked using Pegasus, the spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group. According to TechCrunch, the attack was carried out by one of NSO Group's government clients.

What makes this case notable is that, at the time of the hack, the politician who was targeted was a member of a European Parliament committee investigating abuses in the commercial spyware industry. In other words, the surveillance tool was deployed against a person whose very job was to scrutinize such practices.

What is known

Pegasus is one of the best-known tools for targeted smartphone hacking, giving access to a user's messages, calls, location and other data without their knowledge. NSO Group has repeatedly stated that it sells its products exclusively to government agencies to fight crime and terrorism, yet the program keeps ending up at the center of scandals involving the surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders and politicians.

The current incident highlights a systemic problem: even official investigations into the activities of spyware makers are not safe from interference by their clients — the very states that wield these tools against people they find inconvenient.

The report does not disclose which country was behind the attack or which politician was targeted.

Source: TechCrunch