Telegram CEO and co -founder Pavel Durov has also been the target of Pegasus spyware. His name is included in a long list of well -known figures suspected of being targets of spyware created by the NSO Group.
The Guardian reported that Durov’s phone number was included in a leaked list of 50,000 suspected phone numbers as potential surveillance targets. This means there may be NSO Group customers who have been spying on Durov lately.
The list was revealed by Amnesty International and French nonprofit group Forbidden Stories. The list contains telephone numbers belonging to the president, prime minister, king, journalists, lawyers and activists.
When asked whether Durov was one of Pegasus' targets or other spyware -related activities, an NSO spokesman did not answer explicitly.
“The claim that a name is on the definite list in relation to a Pegasus target or potential target is wrong and wrong,” an NSO Group spokesperson said, as quoted by The Guardian on Thursday (22/7/2021).
Durov’s phone number has been on the list since 2018. This is a British phone number linked to his personal Telegram account for many years.
Durov’s selection as one of the spy targets may have something to do with his career as the founder of Telegram. As is well known, Telegram offers messaging services with end-to-end encryption that are popular among groups looking to avoid government attention such as terrorists, criminals and activists fighting authoritarian regimes.
The list of governments and intelligence agencies potentially targeting Durov is also quite long. Durov left his homeland in Russia in 2013 and once had an argument with Russian spies. Telegrams also played a major role in protests in Belarus, Hong Kong and Iran.
Still, analysis of the leaked list suggests that Durov may be a target of the United Arab Emirates, which was once a customer of the NSO Group. In 2018, Durov did change his legal address and moved from Finland to the UAE.
Given that his phone number was added to the list in 2018, the time is right with Durov’s move and perhaps UAE spies want to check the background of the controversial newcomer.
According to cybersecurity experts who have researched how Pegasus works, this spyware can attack encrypted messaging applications and can access all parts of the phone that have been infected.
They say encrypted messaging apps like Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal can no longer protect conversations on them if your phone is infected with vicious spyware with Pegasus.
Pegasus itself is a very horrible spyware. This spyware software can steal various data from the infected phone, such as messages, photos, emails, phone records, and even activate the microphone.
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