The Pegasus case broke out: activists spying with software

The Washington Post is pointing fingers at her Victor Urban, accusing Hungary of using special Israeli-made software to monitor the mobile phones of journalists, activists and managers.

According to reports from the daily newspaper controlled by Jeff Bezos through Nash Holdings, thanks to an investigation that would have seen the cooperation of 16 international newspapers, the Hungarian leader would use spyware winged horse: This software, produced and published by the Israeli Nso Group, was originally created to allow governments around the world to intercept and spy on potential terrorists. In the investigation there are about 50 thousand phone numbers even if, as the newspaper itself admitted, it is not known how many of these numbers and which of them were successfully “infected” with spyware. Among these, some refer to heads of state and journalists from various newspapers, such as CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Voice of America and Al Jazeera. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates could have also used the software to monitor the mobile phones of some close people Jamal KashoggiThe slain Washington Post reporter.

Nso rejects the accusation that there is a link between the list of numbers (dated, moreover, for 2016) and its own technology, stating that it does not directly manage“Systems you sell to controlled government customers” and not to reachdata for the goals of its customers. Confirming that its software is intended for use that falls within the rules established by law to protect national security, Nsu announced that it intends to investigate “on all credible allegations of abuse” of its systems.

There is no chance, however, that the company will reveal the names of its clients, although the Washington Post reported that a former employee of we forgot (who wants to remain anonymous) will reveal that the Hungarian government itself will be on the list of clients of the Israeli company.

Thanks to Pegasus, the newspaper that Bezos controls, you can access emails, texts, photos and messages extracted from encrypted communication apps like WhatsApp and Signal. Spyware also allows you to listen in on phone conversations, secretly operate cameras and microphones, and collect location data.

Some of the Hungarian phone numbers on the list belong to convicted criminals, ie legitimate targets. But among those, there are also two figures referred to by journalists Zappulex Pani and Andras Szabo, and one for a businessman who wanted to remain anonymous. Accordingly, the Washington Post He believes he can say that the Hungarian government of Orban is exploiting the Pegasus system to spy on various targets and potential opponents. Other numbers linked to at least 5 journalists and 10 lawyers will be added to the list, while the newspaper, controlled by Bezos, made it clear that Orban’s government was strengthening its control of the country’s media and asserting broad powers over the courts as well. ..

Reply from Hungary

This is how the Hungarian government responded to the accusations: “Hungary is a democratic country governed by the rules of law, and as such, when it comes to any individual, it always acts and continues to act in accordance with the established rules. In Hungary, state and non-governmental institutions regularly monitor authorized state bodies using secret tools “.