This spyware can steal all your contacts, call logs, images and videos, passwords, app data, WhatsApp data, even your iCloud(apple server), Microsoft server (including Office360) and also Google server. In short, it can steal all your details from your device.
All you have to do is to click on a message only.
The spyware is the Pegasus and is the most dangerous and advanced spyware. Pegasus is developed by the Israel company NSO group technologies.
Introduction
Pegasus is the spyware that can hack any Android & iOS device including tablet. It can steal the following types:
- E-mails
- Text messages
- Audio
- Images
- Videos
- App installed such as Facebook, Instagram, etc
- Capture images from the camera
- Data from cloud such as iCloud, Microsoft, Google and Amazon servers
- Passwords
- Track & listen to calls
- Capture video from the camera
- Location
- Microphone audio
About NSO
NSO group technologies is an Israeli based technology firm focused on cyber intelligence. It had 500 employees including 200 employees that are hacking specialists.
What’s new in version 2
Pegasus version 2 or updated Pegasus can also easily Bypass 2 Factor Authentication without the knowledge of the user.
The Pegasus can copy authentication keys of the cloud services and can download entire data with the online history of the victim.
Even after removing the victim’s device, it can still copy and send data.
How Pegasus works?
- The attacker sends a link through message, WhatsApp, etc to the target.
- Once, the victim only clicks on the link, it will be automatically installed on the victim’s device.
- The user doesn’t have to permit and even will not know if spyware is installed on his device.
- Once installed, it contacts the operator’s C&CS (control and command server) and sends all the data.
- Even after uninstalling it, the operator can still Spy on the victim.
- It can also self-destruct itself on command or if it senses itself on a virtual machine
History of Pegasus
Pegasus was first discovered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when a human rights activist got a message about secret information of human violations in UAE. On August 10, 2011, he received a text message on his iPhone but he got suspicious.
So, he sent it to researchers at Citizen Lab, an organization at the University of Toronto.
The researchers recognized in 2016 n their report that the links belonged to an exploit infrastructure connected to the NSO Group, which sells Pegasus and other spyware to governments known for human rights violations to spy on critics and activists.
In 2018, an employee of Amnesty International received a WhatsApp message with a link. He didn’t click on the link. If he would have clicked thePegasus Pegasus would be installed on his device.
Who uses Pegasus?
NSO group said that “it sells its software to the government to help them to fight terrorism and serious crime”.
Moreover, According to a research by Citizen Lab, the NSO had victims or operations in 45 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zambia.
