Pegasus is widely regarded as one of the most powerful pieces of spyware ever created. Once installed on a phone, it essentially turns the device into a 24-hour surveillance tool.
Its capabilities are extensive, allowing it to copy sent and received messages, record phone calls and access photos. Even more invasive, Pegasus can activate a phone’s camera to film the user without their knowledge, track their location and log their interactions.
Developed by NSO Group, an Israeli cyber-surveillance firm regulated by the country’s ministry of defence, Pegasus operates under the pretence of fighting terrorism and criminal activity. This technology has become a key tool in Israeli diplomacy, used not only by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but also by Mossad. Despite being blacklisted by the US administration of President Joe Biden in 2021, NSO Group continues to operate.
Initially, Pegasus was marketed to governments worldwide, with its earliest versions dating back to 2016. These early versions relied on “spear-phishing”, where targets were tricked into clicking malicious links in emails or text messages.
But the spyware has since evolved. Today, it requires no interaction from the target to infect their device. Using zero-click attacks, Pegasus exploits software vulnerabilities, often through bugs in cellphones, to infiltrate without the user ever noticing.
Claudio Guarnieri, head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab in Berlin, Germany, noted that “things are becoming a lot more complicated for the targets to notice” because of the sophistication of these zero-click attacks. For instance, a Pegasus infection can be triggered by a simple WhatsApp call, even if the target doesn’t answer.
Pegasus exploits popular apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram and Viber, taking advantage of their vulnerabilities to infiltrate phones. The spyware can even install a wireless transceiver near the target or be manually installed by stealing the target’s phone. Once active, it can extract information such as address books, messages, call histories, internet browsing data and emails.
“When an iPhone is compromised, the attacker gains root privileges, or administrative control, over the device,” said Guarnieri. “Pegasus can do more on the device than its actual owner can.”
NSO Group has taken extensive measures to make Pegasus undetectable, making it difficult for users to know if their phone has been compromised.
NSO is backed by several global investors, the largest being Novalpina Capital, a London-based equity firm that invested $233 million in 2017. Prior to this, Oregon’s state employee pension fund supported NSO, and in 2019, Centrica, a British pension fund, also invested in Novalpina.
But NSO’s power isn’t only financial, it’s diplomatic. According to Amitai Ziv of the Haaretz newspaper, “When Israel is selling cyber-surveillance to some African country, they can assure their vote at the UN. Since there’s an occupation we need the votes.”
Through relaxed export licensing, NSO has become a tool in Israel’s national security strategy, securing support from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In 2020, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked Netanyahu to restore Pegasus access after its misuse by the Saudi government. Israel complied, viewing Saudi Arabia as a key ally against Iran.
NSO is just one player in a shadowy, unregulated spyware industry that spans 23 nations. Although NSO is the most prominent, many private companies act as proxies for governments. The use of such technology is enabling authoritarian regimes worldwide, with targets often including not just criminals, but also human rights activists and journalists.
Israel’s defence sector is increasingly shifting toward selling surveillance equipment rather than traditional arms like rifles and drones, as surveillance technology is harder to detect and scrutinise. The NSO case reflects Israel’s broader strategy of marketing, testing and proliferating surveillance technology globally.
Eli Pinko, former head of Israel’s Defence Export Control Agency, remarked that Israel feels compelled to sell cybersecurity to anyone willing to buy, prioritising its own national security over civil rights abroad. “It’s either the civil rights in some country or Israel’s right to exist.”
Despite US expectations that Israel would regulate NSO’s activities, the company essentially operates as an extension of the Israeli government’s intelligence apparatus. The technology’s strength lies in the expertise of former Israel Defense Forces intelligence soldiers and their advanced hacking capabilities.
This has put NSO in direct competition with the US National Security Agency, even challenging the dominance of the “Five Eyes” alliance — comprising the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand — in global intelligence operations. Spying on billions of citizens across the globe.
Pegasus is not just a powerful piece of spyware, it’s a reflection of the evolving global landscape of cyber-surveillance, where technology is increasingly weaponised for political and diplomatic gain.
Developed by NSO Group under Israel’s close supervision, Pegasus has become a tool for nations to assert influence, often at the expense of human rights and privacy. Its ability to infiltrate devices without user interaction marks a new era of digital espionage, one where individuals can be monitored without their knowledge and authoritarian regimes are empowered to suppress dissent.
The lack of regulation in this industry, and the covert use of such technology by governments, signals a troubling future, where surveillance becomes an invisible, yet omnipresent, force. As nations continue to exploit these technologies, the balance between national security and the protection of civil liberties grows increasingly fragile.
Without stronger oversight and accountability, spyware like Pegasus threatens to erode the very freedoms it claims to safeguard.
Sõzarn Barday is an attorney based in South Africa and has a particular interest in human rights in the Middle East.
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