Pegasus Spyware Used on Hundreds of People, Says Poland's Prosecutor General

An anonymous reader shared this report from the Associated Press: Poland's prosecutor general told the parliament on Wednesday that powerful Pegasus spyware was used against hundreds of people during the former government in Poland, among them elected officials. Adam Bodnar told lawmakers that he found the scale of the surveillance "shocking and depressing...." The data showed that Pegasus was used in the cases of 578 people from 2017 to 2022, and that it was used by three separate government agencies: the Central Anticorruption Bureau, the Military Counterintelligence Service and the Internal Security Agency. The data show that it was used against six people in 2017; 100 in 2018; 140 in 2019; 161 in 2020; 162 in 2021; and then nine in 2022, when it stopped.... Bodnar said that the software generated "enormous knowledge" about the "private and professional lives" of those put under surveillance. He also stressed that the Polish state doesn't have full control over the data that is gathered because the system operates on the basis of a license that was granted by an Israeli company.
"Pegasus gives its operators complete access to a mobile device, allowing them to extract passwords, photos, messages, contacts and browsing history and activate the microphone and camera for real-time eavesdropping."

Number seems low

[Slashythenkilly]

Hundreds in 5 years seems like a waste, lets try thousands.

Re:Number seems low

[echo123]

Hundreds in 5 years seems like a waste, lets try thousands.

Not really. Pegasus was used for high-value targets, like Jamal Kashoggi. [theguardian.com]

In the aftermath of Kashoggi's murder, look at how much money Saudi Arabia has spent sports-washing [britannica.com] and propping up Jared Kushner.

- Saudi Government Uses European Football to Sportswash its Reputation [hrw.org]
- PGA-Saudi Deal Tees Up Sportswashing [hrw.org]
- Jared Kushner’s $2 Billion Investment From Saudi Arabia: What To Know After Republicans Delay Subpoena [forbes.com]

used against political opposition

[kiviQr]

Using against legally approved targets is easy case. But using it against opposition is at least legally questionable.

Re:

[Alain Williams]

But using it against opposition is at least legally questionable.

We are talking about politicians here, what they say and what they do are completely different things. The best way of describing most of them is duplicitous — regardless of country or party.

Re:

[kiviQr]

There is a difference between governing party using it against opposition vs independent non-government entity using it against all politicians.

Use this app to check your phone for Pegasus and o

[mellowinottawa]

For iOS and uses a new technique no other apps are using, you share iOS system diagnostic data with the app so it can access it outside of the app sandbox and it analyses that. Other apps pretend to check but canâ(TM)t due to app sandboxing. Called Am I Secure? on the App Store https://apps.apple.com/app/id6... [apple.com]

Re: Use this app to check your phone for Pegasus a

[mellowinottawa]

Not sure why youâ(TM)re suggesting analyzing system diagnostic data wouldnâ(TM)t be a worthwhile exercise to detect spyware. Not familiar with cyber security much?

Re:

[ArchieBunker]

If a device is already compromised I'm not trusting any data it reports.

Re: Use this app to check your phone for Pegasus

[mellowinottawa]

With iOS that is your only option unfortunately. Given how infrequent forensic analysis is though, so far no implants are making any attempt to hide themselves. They try and ensure that the sensitive exploit chain that delivered them is wiped but that involves simply deleting objects from specific on device databases typically versus modifying numerous logs. Unsure if so far it is not worth their while or if attempting to modify logs as they are captured introduces system instability which makes it more lik

Re:

[flyingfsck]

Nevermind the silly phone apps. When you are outside and look up, smile! Somebody may be looking at you and you need to stay on the good side of his trigger finger.

Re: Forget Pegasus! It's already passe

[mellowinottawa]

The implant itself, so Pegasus, doesnâ(TM)t need to change as often as the exploits used to deliver it to the victimâ(TM)s device. Those need to change every time they get caught and Apple or Google issue new security updates. Pegasus itself isnâ(TM)t particularly impressive, itâ(TM)s how they get it on your device that is.

Re: Forget Pegasus! It's already passe

[mellowinottawa]

That's in part why this app (https://apps.apple.com/app/id6468312814) can catch even unknown implants/spyware. It is not the implant that is the ultra sophisticated part but it is of course the part that causes you harm and invades your privacy.

Re: Forget Pegasus! It's already passe

[mellowinottawa]

Apple routinely suggests users share such data with app developers for finding the cause of issues. This is different from an iTunes backup which would definitely contain private data.

Re: Forget Pegasus! It's already passe

[mellowinottawa]

Sysdiagnose for macOS is more extensive than for iOS, the privacy warnings arenâ(TM)t the same. But yeah, definitely privacy concerns with macOS version.

Re: How is it still a thing?

[mellowinottawa]

Almost every new iOS security update is triggered by the latest vulnerabilities found and exploited by the developer of Pegasus, the NSO Group, or another spyware vendor. So they keep finding new ways in.