An international network of journalists is tracking down a large-scale spying action.
The horror is great, the first top politicians are demanding consequences.
Munich / Berlin - In Greek mythology, the Pegasus is a winged horse - in secret service circles one associates Pegasus with monitoring software from the manufacturer NOS.
Chats and phone calls could be recorded, microphones and cameras switched on unnoticed - in real time.
As a report by a global network of journalists now suggests, traces of attacks using the company's Pegasus software were found on 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, their family members and business people.
The researchers, together with the organizations Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International, evaluated a data set of more than 50,000 cell phone numbers.
The findings of the report meet with indignation from top politicians and associations: They see freedom of the press as a result of espionage at risk.
Pegasus unveiling - von der Leyen indignant: "If it's true, then it's completely unacceptable"
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called on Monday for a review of the revelations about the alleged worldwide spying on journalists, activists and opposition members. "If it is true, then it is completely unacceptable," emphasized von der Leyen in front of journalists in Prague. "A free press is one of the cornerstones of the European Union." The French government spokesman Gabriel Attal had previously commented on the Pegasus report. “This is of course an extremely shocking fact,” Attal made clear to the broadcaster Franceinfo. He announced investigations and, like von der Leyen, emphasized the importance of media freedom. "We are very attached to freedom of the press," he added.
In Hungary, too, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban pursues a repressive media policy, politicians are calling for clarification.
As reported by the Hungarian research group
Direk36
, there are said to have been more than 300 potential surveillance
targets
in Hungary.
There was evidence that four Hungarian journalists and one photographer were monitored, as well as several business people and ex-politicians.
Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto rejected the allegations.
The secret service does not use the espionage software, confirmed Szijjarto in an interview with the news portal
Telex.hu
.
The Hungarian opposition nevertheless demanded a special meeting of the security committee.
Pegasus revelation: Association of journalists calls for clarification
Not only politicians are demanding a reaction, associations are also outraged.
For its part, the German Association of Journalists (DJV) demanded clarification about a possible use of Pegasus by German authorities.
"For the security authorities it must now be: cards on the table," said DJV chairman Frank Überall.
According to initial findings, German journalists were not spied on with the Pegasus software.
A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said that laws and regulations apply in Germany “and all measures taken by the investigative authorities must be based on them”.
He also pointed out that a judge's reservation applies to special investigative measures, such as telecommunications surveillance.
Pegasus report: manufacturer NSO defends itself against allegations
The Israeli software company NSO had already been accused in the past of providing the Pegasus program to authoritarian regimes to monitor journalists and opposition activists.
Facebook sued NSO in the US in 2019.
The allegation in the lawsuit is that NSO tried to gain access to hundreds of smartphones via a security hole in WhatsApp that was closed later.
NSO rejects the allegations.
The Israeli company spoke of "false allegations and misleading allegations" on July 18, referring to the Forbidden Stories report.
Their sources provided them with information that had no factual basis.
"The allegations are so outrageous and far from reality that NSO is considering a libel suit."
(
jjf / dpa / AFP
)
