Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

How does spying through Pegasus occur and can it be avoided?

How does spying through Pegasus occur and can it be avoided?

An investigation revealed that journalists and opponents from several countries were spied on through the Pegasus program.
The Pegasus program of the Israeli company NSO, which allegedly served to spy on activists, journalists and opponents around the world, is a very sophisticated system that constantly exploits the vulnerabilities of smartphones.

-How does the NSO spy program work ? -

Once it is entered in the mobile phone, Pegasus exports the user's data (emails, messages, photographs, etc.) to Internet pages created by NSO, which are constantly renewed to avoid detection.

It's "like you're leaving your phone in someone else's hands," warns Alan Woodward, professor of cybersecurity at the University of Surrey (UK).

This transmission of information goes completely unnoticed by the user and it is very difficult to find any proof of this spying on Android phones. For this reason, the Amnesty International investigation, revealed on Sunday, was based on Apple mobiles.

-How is the victim's phone hacked? -

In its controversial past, well documented by Amnesty, NSO used cheat SMS, bugs in WhatsApp, iMessage, Apple Music ...

A few years ago, a user action, such as clicking on a link, was required for the phone to be hacked.

But now you don't even need this gesture from the owner for Pegasus to be able to get into your smartphone.

-How does NSO find phone bugs to get into them? -

With over a thousand employees, NSO is a large company that employs elite hackers and this allows it to constantly find phone bugs to hack into.

According to experts, it also tends to resort to the "black market" in which cybersecurity researchers, with very little morale, tend to commercialize the flaws that serve as a gateway.

The most popular faults are known as "zero days" and they are errors that no one has detected before and that are difficult to fix.

According to Bastien Bobe, Southern Europe technical director at Lookout, editor of a smartphone protection program, the most valuable "zero days" can be marketed for up to $ 2 million on iOS (Apple's operating system) and $ 2.5 million. million on Android.

-Can this type of spying be avoided? -

Yes and no.

Some simple precautions can make hacking difficult, such as updating your phone or turning it off once a day, since these types of actions make it difficult for these spyware to work.

You can also buy some programs to improve mobile security, but these have few users, "since people feel safer with their phone than with the computer," laments Bobe.

As recognized by this specialist, no action guarantees total protection.

"If someone wants to take control of a smartphone and has significant means to do so (...), such as several million or tens of millions, they will get it," he says.

For this reason, he recommends that those people who have sensitive or coveted information are better off using old non-smart mobile phones.

SOURCE: AFP
Comments

Simple Man 4 year ago
No my friend. It cannot be avoided. The OS backdoor(s) -every popular OS- are built-in by design, and by the (patriot) laws. The smart NSO guys did not abused any bugs, but commercialized built-in features in commercial software.

NSO just selling to law enforcement around the world what the 5 eyes and few more of their noses and tails have and use against their own journalists and activists anyway.

Do not attack NSO for making money from using built-in features in Apple, Google and Microsoft products. Instead, kindly ask the Big-Tech to protect their customers and users, for a change.

Because if it's wrong to spy on social and liberal activists and journalists, as i think it is, its wrong anywhere. And if it's right - it's right everywhere.

There is no single difference between Julian Assange in London and Edward Snowden in Moscow, or Alexei Navalnyin in Russia and Roman Protasevichin in Belarus. Or it's OK to expose government's wrong doing, or it's important to hunt wrongdoing-exposers in the name of stability, law, security, whatever.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×