PEGASUS SPYWARE
Pegasus is a spyware owned, developed, marketed by an Israeli firm NSO Group. It is believed to be the most powerful spyware ever developed. The company claims that “It provides authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime.” It states to provide it to customers only for the purpose of national security and criminal investigations.
What does Pegasus do?
Pegasus when infects any Android or iOS device can turn it into a 24-hour surveillance device. It has an access to your messages, photos, calls, contacts, potentially everything in the phone. It is even capable to secretly switch on the microphone and camera of the phone and record all calls, track locations and activities. Any activity of the target phone owner could be tracked and recorded.
How does it work?
What makes it a minacious spyware is that it can operate even through a “zero-click” method, which means it doesn’t require the target phone owner’s interaction in order to operate. It could also target by just making a WhatsApp call and even if it wasn’t answered by the owner, it hacks the phone.
If at all spear-phishing and zero-click attacks fail to target a phone, Pegasus can be installed through a transceiver (transmitter and receiver) placed near the target. Claudio Guarnieri (Amnesty International’s Berlin-based security lab expert) says “Pegasus can do more than what the owner of the device can do.”
It can self-destruct itself if unable to contact its command and control server for more than 60 days. It can also be destructed by a command in case installed in a wrong device.
Practically all devices are vulnerable but iPhones have been targeted comparatively more because of the easy access the default iMessage app pre-installed on all Apple devices provides. It also possesses a threat to those devices which use most frequently used apps like WhatsApp.
Reasons of being in news lately:
There have been alleged uses of this spyware to spy on journalists, human rights activists, politicians among others in many countries including India. Names of many important people on the surveillance list have raised questions on human rights violations. The company though claims to block governments and agencies from further allowing them to use the software if any misuse is found. The intent behind the software development has been questioned multiple times but the NSO Group stands firm on emphasizing that their product helps governments to fight against terrorism and severe criminal activities for national security.
It is yet to be confirmed if the Israeli firm has a control and track system of the surveillance list or it is what it claims to be.
So is there any way you could protect your phones from not letting it get attacked by the Pegasus software?
Claudio Guarnieri puts it on point: “The real honest answer is nothing.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Wikipedia
The Guardian
The India Express
DATE: 5 September 2021
DAY: Sunday