New Delhi: United Kingdom government officials were attacked with “suspected Pegasus infections” by operators that were allegedly from India and three other countries, according to a new report released by Internet watchdog Citizen Lab.The Pegasus spyware, a sophisticated hacking software made by Israel’s NSO Group, is capable of turning an individual’s smartphone into a remote listening device and is only used by vetted government agencies.According to Citizen Lab, in 2020 and 2021, it observed “multiple suspected instances of Pegasus spyware infections” within the Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).The researchers, who are considered among the world’s leading experts in detecting digital attacks, announced they had taken the rare step of notifying the UK government of the attack as it “believes that our actions can reduce harm”.“The suspected infections relating to the FCO were associated with Pegasus operators that we link to the UAE, India, Cyprus, and Jordan. The suspected infection at the UK Prime Minister’s Office was associated with a Pegasus operator we link to the UAE,” the research think-tank, based out of the University of Toronto, said.Also read: Pegasus Project: 174 Individuals Revealed By The Wire On Snoop List So Far“Because the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its successor office, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development office (FCDO), have personnel in many countries, the suspected FCO infections we observed could have related to FCO devices located abroad and using foreign SIM cards, similar to the hacking of foreign phone numbers used by US State Department employees in Uganda in 2021.”This report has come days before UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to visit India.In July 2021, The Wire and a consortium of international media organisations highlighted the abuse of Pegasus spyware in countries across the world, including India. As part of its reportage, The Wire uncovered that the number of a former staffer of the British High Commission in Delhi was on the snoop list.“The United Kingdom is currently in the midst of several ongoing legislative and judicial efforts relating to regulatory questions surrounding cyber policy, as well as redress for spyware victims. We believe that it is critically important that such efforts are allowed to unfold free from the undue influence of spyware,” said Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab in a statement.“Given that a UK-based lawyer involved in a lawsuit against NSO Group was hacked with Pegasus in 2019, we felt compelled to ensure that the UK Government was aware of the ongoing spyware threat, and took appropriate action to mitigate it.”The Pegasus Project is a collaborative investigation that involves more than 80 journalists from 17 news organisations in 10 countries coordinated by Forbidden Stories with the technical support of Amnesty International’s Security Lab. Read all our coverage here.
