All you need to know about Pegasus Spyware
Governments around the world are facing allegations that they used Israeli-made malware to spy on the phones of activists, journalists, corporate executives and politicians.
*So, what is Pegasus?*
Pegasus is highly sophisticated spyware developed by the Israeli spyware maker NSO Group. The spyware does not attack random users. It is a targeted surveillance tool.
*What can Pegasus do?*
The spyware can be used to infiltrate mobile phones, both Android and iOS. It can track calls, read text messages, track locations, collect passwords, access the camera and microphone of the target mobile device. The spyware was first reported in 2016 during a failed attempt at installing it on the mobile phone of a human rights activist.
*How does it work?*
The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto helped WhatsApp to investigate the cyber-attack. It that the spyware targets a vulnerability in the WhatsApp VoIP stack that is used for making audio and video calls. Even a missed call enabled Pegasus to gain access to the target’s mobile phone or a device. The spyware also incorporates other ways to hack into the devices or mobile phones such as getting the targeted user to click a malicious website link and with a zero-click attack method which requires no action on the part of the target user. And unfortunately, there's no way to detect if the phone is infected with the spyware.
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