View: Pegasus – assumptions, limitations and gaps

Pegasus, a spyware system sold by the NSO group based in Israel has recently been the focus of significant controversy, political rumour mongering and media frenzy. The system as detailed by the creators is used by various government agencies to monitor individuals who are a threat to national security as well as members of criminal syndicates. The export of Pegasus is heavily regulated under Israel’s Defense Export Law under the overarching ambit of Israel’s Defense Export Controls Agency (DECA).

The recent public scrutiny and frenzy have primarily been due to simultaneous unverified media reports which claimed that the system was used to target activists, journalists, and several others. The frenzy was compounded by subsequent reports of around 50,000 numbers having been leaked that were allegedly targeted by Pegasus. We discuss below some of the techniques that the reports have relied upon.