NSO Pegasus Spyware Used Against Journalists, Activists, Diplomats and Exiles

Investigations by Forbidden Stories, Amnesty International, Citizen Lab and major news outlets found that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was repeatedly used far beyond stated counterterrorism and criminal investigations, with targets including journalists, human rights lawyers, anti-corruption activists, diplomats, aid workers, and political exiles. A leaked dataset of more than 50,000 phone numbers linked to NSO customers and forensic analysis of examined devices showed confirmed or attempted infections on dozens of phones, including successful compromises of Apple iPhones. Reporting tied selections and infections to multiple governments and highlighted targeting of figures around the Dalai Lama, overseas numbers used by Americans, and civil society members across countries including Mexico, India, Hungary, Morocco and France.

Mexico emerged as one of the clearest examples of abuse, where Pegasus-linked phishing messages and other surveillance tactics were used against prominent reporters, lawyers and activists investigating corruption, human rights abuses and politically sensitive cases. Separate reporting alleged that weak oversight and corruption allowed spyware bought by Mexican authorities to be misused and, in some cases, to reach actors connected to drug cartels, deepening risks for journalists and investigators. NSO denied that the leaked list represented Pegasus targets and said it sells only to vetted governments, but the disclosures prompted warnings about national security risks to U.S. personnel abroad and renewed calls, including from Edward Snowden, for a global crackdown on the commercial spyware trade.