The Pegasus spyware is once again making headlines. A new report by The Washington Post and 16 media partners have revealed that Pegasus has been used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and business executives. Smartphones of at least 40 journalists from India have been targeted by the spyware. Here is everything you need to know about Pegasus.
Who created Pegasus
The Pegasus spyware is created by Israel-based surveillance tech company NSO Group, also known as Q Cyber Technologies. The Pegasus is not a random spyware that you get online. The company-- NSO Group-- was founded in 2009 as a specialised surveillance technology solution maker in Israel. Pegasus is its well-known spying product. But Pegasus is not the only product it sells. “NSO is a technology company with a range of products, including those designed to augment data analytics capabilities by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, improve search and rescue efforts, implement effective counter-measures against incursions by drones,” as per the company.
Who can buy Pegasus spyware
NSO Group claims to work with authorised government only. Pegasus is publicly known to be used by Mexico and Panama governments. It has 60 customers across 40 countries. The company said that 51% of its users belong to Intelligence Agencies, 38% law enforcement agencies and 11% military. The company’s website reads, “NSO Group develops best-in-class technology to help government agencies detect and prevent a wide-range of local and global threats. Our products help government intelligence and law-enforcement agencies use technology to meet the challenges of encryption to prevent and investigate terror and crime.”
Does NSO Group operate Pegasus tool for governments
“NSO licenses Pegasus to sovereign states and state agencies, does not operate Pegasus,has no visibility into its usage, and does not collect information about customers,” as per the company.
What is the cost of using Pegasus spyware
The Pegasus spyware is sold in the form of licenses and the actual prices depend on the contract. The cost of one license can be as high as Rs 70 lakh. With one license, multiple smartphones can be tracked. As per past estimates of 2016, for spying on just 10 people using Pegasus, NSO Group charges a minimum of around Rs 9 crore. As per a 2016 price list, NSO Group charged its customers $650,000 (Rs 4.84 crore at current exchange rate) to hack 10 devices, in addition to an installation fee of $500,000 (Rs 3.75 crore).
Is Pegasus a mass surveillance tool
As per NSO Group, Pegasus is not a mass surveillance technology. “It only collects data from the mobile devices of specific individuals, suspected to be involved in serious crime and terror,” the company said in its Transparency and Responsibility Report. However, note that NSO Group has “no visibility into its usage” as “it does not operate Pegasus”.
What data can be secretly stolen from phones using Pegasus
With the Pegasus tool, the attacker can get SMS records, contact details, call history, calendar records, emails, instant messaging and browsing history. According to the product brochure by NSO Group, Pegasus can snoop WhatsApp, Viber, Skype and BlackBerry messenger. Pegasus can secretly click photos, record calls, record surrounding audio and even take screenshots without alerting the user. Once the spying mission is over, the Pegasus operator can hit the kill switch remotely to self-delete the Pegasus agent on the victim’s phone.
Which smartphones are supported by Pegasus tool for spying
The Pegasus spyware works on devices running Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Symbian and even Tizen.
How is Pegasus spyware installed in a victim’s phone
The challenge for those using the Pegasus tool to spy on a victim is to remotely and secretly install the tool on their phones. Phishing messages is the most popular way to install Pegasus on a victim’s phone for spying. Pegasus can be installed even if the victim’s phone number is not known. In case the attacker doesn’t have the victims’ phone number or email ID, the Pegasus agent can be silently injected once the number is acquired using a tactical network element such as Base Transceiver Station (BTS).
What is needed for Pegasus spyware to work
Pegasus needs a major backend IT architecture for it to work. NSO group employees visit their customer site to install the entire facility. As per the product brochure of Pegasus, “NSO is responsible to deploy and configure the Pegasus hardware and software at the customer premises.” The entire setup requires WEB Servers, Communications Module, Cellular Communication Module, Permission Module, Data Storage, Servers Security, System Hardware installation, Operator Consoles and finally the Pegasus app.
What is the minimum IT hardware requirement for running Pegasus
The minimum system hardware and specifications required for Pegasus to function include: The operator terminals or standard desktop PCs with these specifications are required-- Processor: Core i5, Memory: 3GB RAM, Hard Drive: 320GB and Operating System: Windows 7. The minimum system infrastructure required are two units of 42U cabinet, Networking hardware, 10TB of storage, 5 standard servers, UPS, Cellular modems and SIM cards.