Thread by @docrussjackson

The world’s most sophisticated commercially available spyware may be being abused, according to a journalistic investigation: Pegasus, has been used to target & spy on human rights activists, investigative journalists, politicians & academics.

theconversation.com/spyware-why-th…

Pegasus is the most advanced spyware on the market. It can infiltrate victims’ devices without their even having to click a malicious link – a so-called “zero-click attack”.

Once inside, the power Pegasus possesses to transform a phone into a surveillance beacon is astounding.

It immediately copies messages, pictures, videos & downloaded content to send to the attacker. It also records calls, tracks a target’s location while independently & secretly activating a phone’s camera and microphone: an infected phone acts like a permanent fly on the wall.

The Pegasus revelations show that sophisticated spyware tools are sold on an open market: an industry of for-profit malware developers creating & selling the same types of tools – & sometimes these tools are used by “bad hackers” to bring businesses & Govts to their knees.

In the wake of the Pegasus revelations, Edward Snowden has called for an international spyware ban, stating that we’re moving towards a world where no device is safe.

theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/…

Without transparency, we have no sense of how & under what circumstances Pegasus is licensed, who has authorisation to use Pegasus once it’s licensed, under what circumstances a license may be revoked, or what international regulations are in place to police against its abuse.

Pegasus has been misused. Greater accountability & oversight is needed. How do we regulate & introduce enforceable controls on the creation & sale of corporate spyware? Without this, the threats that Pegasus and future spyware tools pose will be a threat to all of us.