Responding to the reports of Apple sending a new round of threat notifications globally, including to Indian opposition leaders and journalists, noting that their iPhones may have been targeted by “state-sponsored attackers”, Likhita Banerji, Amnesty International’s Researcher and Advisor on technology and human rights, said:

On 5 October 2023, a major global investigation – the “Predator Files” – was published exposing the proliferation of surveillance technologies around the world and the failure of governments and the European Union (EU) to properly regulate the industry. The Security Lab at Amnesty International is a technical partner in the “Predator Files”, a project coordinated by the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) media network into the Intellexa alliance, the makers and marketers of the Predator spyware. As part of this collaboration, the Security Lab has reviewed technical documentation, marketing material and other records obtained by Der Spiegel and Mediapart – who are part of EIC – which shed light on the ecosystem of surveillance products offered by the Intellexa alliance.

Responding to today’s vote by Members of the European Parliament urging the European Union (EU) to more tightly regulate the use, manufacture and trade of spyware, Rebecca White, campaigner at Amnesty Tech’s Disrupting Surveillance Team, said: 

Ahead of today’s opening of RightsCon, a summit on human rights in the digital age, which takes place in San José, Costa Rica, Rasha Abdul Rahim, Director of Amnesty Tech, said:  

A joint investigation has revealed that at least twelve Armenian public figures and officials, including journalists and human rights defenders were targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware amid conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, between October 2020 and December 2022.  Evidence from the investigation, conducted with Amnesty International’s Security Lab, Access Now, the Citizen Lab, CyberHUB-AM, and an independent mobile security researcher Ruben Muradyan suggests that the conflict may have been the reason for the targeting.

A high-profile woman journalist in the Dominican Republic has been targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, in the first confirmed case in the country, Amnesty International reveals in a new investigation published on World Press Freedom Day.

Responding to a report by the Financial Times that India is searching for alternative spyware technology to replace NSO Group’s Pegasus surveillance software, Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, Head of the Security Lab at Amnesty International, said:  

A sophisticated hacking campaign by a mercenary spyware company targeting Google’s Android operating system has been exposed by Amnesty International’s Security Lab.

Thailand must thoroughly investigate the use of the invasive Pegasus spyware found on the phones of dozens of activists, Amnesty International said today, after a new report identified 30 people who were targeted or infected with the harmful software, the first time its use in the country has been confirmed through technical analysis.

One year after the Pegasus Project revelations, the lack of a global moratorium on the sale of spyware is allowing the surveillance industry to continue unchecked, Amnesty International warned today.

Amnesty Tech are thrilled to announce the launch of the Digital Forensics Fellowship, led by our Security Lab. This innovative Fellowship is an opportunity for human rights defenders working at the nexus of human rights and technology to expand their learning on digital forensics and to work alongside the Security Lab to conduct unique research projects.

Amnesty International have released a new video revealing how the organization helped to uncover the Pegasus Project spyware scandal.