Updated:
Save
Cybercrimes are becoming more frequent with the explosion of the use of smartphones. In one of these devices we can find any type of information about the user, from conversations to personal data, which can be more valuable to criminals every day. However, there are also companies that offer these services to governments and agencies: this is the case of Pegasusthe controversial program accused of being behind the espionage of more than 60 pro-independence leaders.
This ‘spyware’, developed by the Israeli company NSO Groupallows remote surveillance of smartphones and was used between 2017 and 2020 to ‘hack’ the mobile phones of up to 63 Catalan politicians. This has been uncovered by a report by Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research platform attached to the University of Toronto.
According to this investigation, among those spied on with the Pegasus code are the last four presidents of the Generalitat and the main representatives of the independence parties and associations, as well as the defense lawyers of the promoters of 1-O.
In addition, since 2016, more than 50,000 people internationally – including politicians, journalists, businessmen, activists or union leaders – have been ‘hacked’ by this software in espionage actions made by different countries of the world. Among them, some of those who have admitted to having been clients of the NSO Group company are Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Mexico, Rwanda or Togo.
But How exactly does Pegasus, the spyware used by the governments of some countries, work?
This is how ‘Pegasus’ spyware works
Pegasus is nothing but a ‘spyware’, a software developed to access all the information of the user it infects. Unlike others, this system does not require any action on the part of the user to gain access to the smartphone from which data is to be extracted; namely, no need to click on fraudulent links the infected documents.
Without the user being aware, this ‘malware’ tries to get almost unlimited control of the infected device. In this way, they are able to obtain data such as the subject’s location or access messages and emails, private photos and videos, and even the camera to take pictures or record conversations.
This program is able to work 24 hours a day and hardly a trace of his presence remains once it infects a mobile phone. In fact, this virus is stored in temporary memory, so when you turn off the phone, it is capable of erasing its traces, making it very difficult to detect.
[Descubre cómo saber si hay alguien espiando tu móvil y cómo debes actuar para evitarlo]
In addition, although mobile operating systems, such as Apple and Android, usually end this type of software with the advance of their updates, Pegasus has managed to keep up with the progress of companies to keep its espionage work intact.
See them
comments