NSO Spyware Used in Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict, Report Finds

Invasive spyware capable of reading a smartphone's messages and listening to calls was found on the phones of at least 12 Armenian journalists, politicians and civil society members, according to a report published Thursday by a group of nonprofit organizations. From a report: The spyware, called Pegasus and made by the Israeli company NSO, had previously been found on the phones of thousands of people around the world, leading to U.S. sanctions in 2021 and a lawsuit from Apple. But researchers said their most recent findings are unique -- they believe it is the first time that the technology has been weaponized in an armed conflict between countries.

Armenia has intermittently battled its neighbor Azerbaijan for decades. In 2020, a cease-fire was broken in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, leaving thousands dead. Since then, the two countries have been mired in a sporadic shooting war which has killed dozens more. The report, a collaboration among the international internet rights group Access Now, Amnesty International and the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, calls for "an immediate moratorium" on the sale and transfer of spyware technology. NSO is the most notorious mercenary spyware developer in the world. It creates powerful programs like Pegasus, which can hack smartphones to reveal information such as contacts, calls and location.

Conflict

[rossdee]

"Armenia has intermittently battled its neighbor Azerbaijan for decades."

The conflict between those two peoples goes back centuries.

(even when they were part of the Ottoman empire)

Re:

[Rujiel]

But for for the last decade (at minimum) Azerbaijan has been a ruthless aggresssor, and the US is its military ally and enabler

It's their spyware tool, not yours! P2P slogged.

[Seven Spirals]

Remember FireChat? Remember how the Chinese government was trying to ban and deplatform it and how Apple and Google had an attitude like "Yeah, we could go for that!" ? I do. Seems like anything that wants to use P2P over 802.11xx, Bluetooth, or LoRa, is always being targetted. You can't get Firechat anymore unless you wanna APK. There are other programs like Vojer and Briar, but few that really hit the mark. What's needed is a not only encrypted chat, but a client with a decent set of controls to ignore no

Civil society members?

[barcarolle]

What are, "Civil society members?"

Pegasus spyware

[terrorubic]

What is the initial method of infection and why hasn't this been closed up?

Re:

[Canberra1]

Good question. Amnesty International had a program to detect spyware, but it is stalled and stale now. Why indeed. They also spotted the servers that do not get shut down. It would appear the authorities WANT computer intrusion - or buy solutions off these trash vendors.The Chinese and Russians thank the USA for not closing known back-doors, no exceptions.

Nice deflection for Israel

[Rujiel]

..but not fooling anyone