by Rebecca White

Together with civil society partners the SHARE Foundation, Access Now, and the Citizen Lab, Amnesty International can reveal that sophisticated spyware is being used to target civil society in yet another European country  – Serbia.

Shocking spyware attacks have been attempted against civil society, journalists, politicians and academics in the European Union (EU), USA and Asia, according to a major new investigation by Amnesty International. Among the targets of Predator spyware are United Nations (UN) officials, a Senator and Congressman in the USA and even the Presidents of the European Parliament and Taiwan.  The investigation is part of the ‘Predator Files’ project, in partnership with the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) and backed by additional in-depth reporting by Mediapart and Der Spiegel.

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.

A new investigation into the global surveillance crisis by the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) media network, with technical assistance from Amnesty International’s Security Lab, today begins to reveal the shocking truth about how far the industry’s tentacles have spread and how ineffective EU regulation has been in controlling it. 

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:  

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.

As Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, spoke in Congress today about the use of Pegasus spyware by Spain’s intelligence services (the CNI), to spy on political figures, Amnesty International have called on authorities to urgently review the regulations to limit covert surveillance of communications.They have also published ten recommendations aimed at finding out the details of what happened, establish remedy and accountability measures for the victims of human rights violations and prevent future arbitrary and mass surveillance.

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