What is the Pegasus Project?

**Bababam** (0:04)
What is the Pegasus Project?
Thanks for asking. Ever since the Snowden case of 2013, the world has gotten used to the idea that states use surveillance to monitor people's activity. All the same, the fallout from the Pegasus Project revelations of recent weeks has been huge, making it a highly significant cyber espionage scandal. The initiative was co-ordinated by French media non-profit organisation Forbidden Stories, who last year obtained access to a list of 50,000 phone numbers targeted by Pegasus spyware. Thanks to the work of a consortium of investigative journalists from all around the world, as well as the support of Amnesty International, the global scale of government surveillance has become apparent. Where does the name of the project come from? The Pegasus hacking software is sold by Israeli technology company NSO Group. It can be covertly installed on most smartphones, enabling remote surveillance and data harvesting. Pegasus can extract emails, text messages, contact lists, location information and much more from a device without the owner realizing.
It can even activate the device's camera and microphone to make secret recordings.
Given its highly intrusive nature, its use is supposedly limited to states or secret services in order to fight against crime and terrorism. In reality though, the huge data leak showed tens of thousands of people were targeted, many of whom had no connection to any criminal activity whatsoever. It is unclear how many phones on the list were actually hacked. Who do the phone numbers belong to then? The list includes political activists, lawyers, journalists investigating corruption, and even heads of state like French president Emmanuel Macron or South African president Cyril Ramaphosa. Just as interesting is the wide-ranging list of countries whose governments have used Pegasus spyware. From Mexico to Saudi Arabia to India and even EU member state Hungary, political powers are closely monitoring their opponents in total impunity. NSO's client list is of course secret, but it's believed at least 40 governments feature. Furthermore, these include authoritarian regimes like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Azerbaijan. Despite the company in theory only selling to vetted clients, some of these states are known for their poor human rights record and treatment of journalists.
What have the repercussions been following the Pegasus Project revelations? NSO Group has been quick to position itself as a force for good, stating that it takes ethical considerations seriously and that the purpose of Pegasus spyware is to save lives, not put them in danger. When interviewed by The Guardian, former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden didn't pull any punches in his criticism of the international spyware trade.

**Edward Snowden** (3:06)
This is an industry that should not exist. We're seeing what the NSO Group, which is sort of the most famous of these guys is up to, but the NSO Group is only one company of many. And if one company smells this bad, what's happening with all the others?

**Bababam** (3:21)
Meanwhile the latest developments have seen Moroccan authorities deny any use of Pegasus spyware, filing defamation claims against Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International for what they call allegations. There you have it.
Now you know what the Pegasus Project is. In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions. What would you like to know about? Use the comments section to ask your questions on the podcast platform.