Pegasus Project reveals spyware targeting journalists and activists 

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On Sunday, the Pegasus Project released a report. It claims that there has been ongoing surveillance of journalists, dissidents, and human rights activists. Their global investigation included 17 news organizations and over 80 journalists. 

The Paris-based  Forbidden Stories consortium and Amnesty International jointly issued the Pegasus Project report.

Extensive research says that NSO Group licensed military-grade spyware was being used in hacking attempts.  At least 37 smartphones were compromised. All the phones belonging to human rights activists and journalists. And the hacked information was being passed to countries that have a history of surveillance of their own citizens.

Agnes Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International said, “The Pegasus Project lays bare how NSOs spyware is a weapon of choice for repressive governments seeking to silence journalists, attack activists, and crush dissent, placing countless lives in peril.”

Data from the Pegasus Project

The phones were on a leaked list of numbers. The phone numbers were discovered by Paris journalism nonprofit Hidden Stories and human rights group Amnesty International, according to the Washington Post. The list includes journalists, activists, and business executives. And it also has the numbers of women close to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.