The Pegasus Project, an investigation by an international media consortium, has revealed that more than 50,000 phone numbers were targeted by spyware created by NSO Group, an Israeli software company. But what is Pegasus, who is it for, how does it infect devices, and what can it do?
Spyware
Spyware is any malicious software that attempts to enter your computer and gather your data without your consent
- Pegasus is the most powerful spyware ever created
- It is designed to infiltrate smartphones and turn them into surveillance devices
- NSO Group markets it as a tool to track criminals and terrorists
July 2021
The Pegasus Project, an international investigative journalism effort, revealed that various governments used the software to spy on government officials, opposition politicians, journalists, activists, and many others
- India used it to spy over 300 people between 2017 and 2019
- Credits: Team Pixel Creation (video production), Online Space (Script), and Team US (artwork)
How does it work?
Pegasus exploits undiscovered vulnerabilities, or bugs, in Android and iOS
- This means a phone could be infected even if it has the latest security patch installed
- By 2019, Pegasus could infiltrate a device with a missed call on WhatsApp and could even delete the record of this missed call, making it impossible for the user to know they had been targeted
What can it do?
Once installed on a phone, Pegasus can intercept and steal more or less any information on it, including SMSes, contacts, call history, calendars, emails, and browsing histories
