Europe have a serious spyware problem that could get out of control if the European Union does not take action on the matter. In accordance with Bloombergan interim report from the Commission of Inquiry into Pegasus details how multiple countries and institutions in the bloc used NSO Group software to spy on politicians and journalists, including Spain
The 156-page report by Sophie in’t Veld, a member of the Democrats 66 party, focuses on countries such as Spain, Greece, Poland, Hungary and Cyprus. The document indicates that citizens can safely assume that all member states of the European Union have purchased one or more spyware productslike Pegasus. In the case of Spain, in’t Veld said there are strong indications that political figures and others were spied on unrelated to a national security threat.
One of the most notorious cases in the country was that of the president Pedro Sanchezwho together with his defense minister, Margarita Robles, were victims of pegasus. The president’s smartphone suffered two intrusions in 2021, where more than 2.6 GB of data was extracted. Although the type of information stolen is unknown, the president did not keep confidential documents on his cell phone.
Another important event is CatalanGate, to which the MEP’s report devotes 12 pages. The document proves that 65 independentists from Catalonia were spied onas the CitizenLab detailed in another report released at the beginning of 2020. Sophie in’t Veld specifies that the politicians did not pose a latent danger to national security.
Europe uses the spyware Pegasus to monitor opponents and journalists
The report has a special section for Poland and Hungary. In those countries, Pegasus is an integral part of a system designed to control and suppress opponents of the government. On the other hand, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic favor the spyware business by giving benefits to companies.
The report concludes that there is no meaningful European oversight to curb the use of spyware against individuals nor to monitor its commercialization. Sophie in’t Veld demanded that the Commission that the accusations of espionage be thoroughly analyzed. The Commission will continue to work for the next six months before defining a strategy.
The news is given in the context of an espionage scandal that Greece is experiencing right now. the government of that country monitored dozens of journalists, businessmen and politicians. According to New York TimesPrime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accepted a few months ago that the intelligence service spied on an opposition political leader in 2021.
Although Mitsotakis denied using spyware to learn the details of his opponents, there is evidence that they were infected with predator. The spyware developed by the North Macedonian company Cytrox takes advantage of an Android vulnerability to infect mobile phones and record conversations. Faced with criticism, Mitsotakis announced on Monday that Greece to ban the sale of spywarealthough he did not define a plan to carry it out.