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A virus developed by an Israeli software company was used last year to try to steal information from at least five senior Israeli officials. European Comission, according to ‘Reuters’. Among them was Didier Reynders, a senior Belgian statesman who has served as European Justice Commissioner since 2019.
According to Reuters, the European Commission was on guard against the possibility that some of its officials had been spied on last November. Specifically, when Apple began alerting thousands of users that they had been targeted by the Israeli company’s virus. The apple technology company had previously filed a lawsuit against the Israeli company NSO Group, creator of a virus of this type.
The company has even been added by the US government to its ‘black list’, which means that it cannot access US technology.
At the moment, it is unknown who – or which state – tried to use the virus to spy on Commission officials. Nor if the ‘hacking’ attempt was successful. In any case, the attack would have occurred last year; specific, between February and September 2021 by exploiting a vulnerability that allowed remote control of the affected phone. The company NSO Group, for its part, affirms that it is not possible that its code has been used to ‘hack’ the commissioners.
The Pegasus code, designed by the Israeli company NSO Group, is an old acquaintance within the field of cybersecurity. Despite the fact that, in theory, it can only be purchased by states, and the tool can only be used to combat terrorism, find missing persons or carry out police operations, the reality is that many of the countries that contract the service end up using it. for other purposes.
Last year, a media consortium brought to light that the virus had infected the phones of more than 50,000 people since 2016. Among them, politicians, journalists, officials, businessmen, activists and union leaders, as well as other personalities.
Pegasus, as Josep Albors, head of research at the cybersecurity company ESET, explained to this newspaper a few months ago, “allows the attacker to have access to the same data that he would have if he had the mobile in his hand.” In this way, it allows access to calls, messages or stored documents, among other things.
Be that as it may, Pegasus is not the only software of its kind made in Israel. QuaDream, a company similar to NSO Group, but smaller in size, also sells such a tool to other countries.
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