Amnesty says NSO’s Pegasus used to hack phones of Palestinian rights workers

The mobile phones of six Palestinian rights workers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were hacked using Israeli technology firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, Amnesty International, and internet security watchdog Citizen Lab said on Monday.

The new findings followed NSO’s blacklisting last week by the US Commerce Department amid allegations its spyware targeted journalists, rights activists, and government officials in several countries.

NSO, which voiced dismay at the US move, exports its products under licences from Israel’s Defence Ministry and says it only sells to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and that it takes steps to curb abuse.