Nine Bahraini activists hacked with Pegasus spyware

Nine Bahraini activists have been hacked by NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus spyware. The hack exploited a vulnerability in iMessage, allowing malware to be installed on iPhones without user interaction.

from Research Citizens Lab at the University of Toronto reveals that Israeli NSO Group malware was installed on the iPhones of nine Bahraini activists. Two activists are political opponents who have been banned from entering the country. The government of Bahrain is suspected of being behind the hacking operations.

An activist was allegedly hacked several times within a few months last year. The first hacks are said to have occurred in September 2019. The hack used the 2020 KISMET vulnerability and a new vulnerability called FORCEDENTRY.

This is not the first time that Pegasus has been used to spy on journalists, activists and politicians. Just last month, phone number President de France Macron It was discovered in a list of phone numbers that were targets for surveillance using the software.

The NSO Group has so far denied using the company’s software to spy on journalists, activists or other public figures. According to the manufacturer, only Pegasus software is used to track down criminals and terrorists.