The Spanish government said Pegasus spyware on the mobile phones of the country's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and Defense Minister, Margarita Robles. The government said the phones were infected with the spyware last year, resulting in data from both devices.
According to Félix Bolaños, the prime minister's phone was targeted in May and June 2021, while phone was illegally monitored in June 2021. Bolaños did not provide details about the culprit, but said the attack must have been "carried out by non-official actors and without state authorization," as in Spain, such surveillance activity requires judicial authorization.
See also: iPhone: Zero-click exploit used in NSO spyware attacks
The hacking of the devices of Spain's Prime Minister and Minister of Defense is now being investigated by the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's highest criminal court.
The phones of other members of the government are also being examined to see if they were infected.
“These facts have been confirmed and are indisputable,” Bolaños added. “I don’t think now is the time to get involved in assumptions or speculation about what the motive might have been.”
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Behind the creation of the Pegasus spyware is NSO Group, an Israel-based company, which claims that the software is only available to government agencies for monitoring criminals and terrorists.
However, what has become known about Pegasus spyware and NSO Group in recent years suggests that this is not necessarily the case. Pegasus, as well as its Android spyware Chrysaor, represent an extremely dangerous piece of technology that could cause serious damage if it falls into the wrong hands.
The person using Pegasus could listen to a victim's conversations and view messages or data that the victim to on their device.
See also: Android malware: New spyware has access to a lot of data
In February, the European Union's data protection authority called for a ban on the Pegasus spyware , warning that its use could lead to an "unprecedented level of intrusion, capable of interfering with the most basic aspects of our daily lives."
Source: Infosecurity-magazine
