London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Human Rights Watch says staffer was targeted with Israeli-made Pegasus spyware

Human Rights Watch says staffer was targeted with Israeli-made Pegasus spyware

The Israeli NSO Group’s technology has been used by governments to target political opponents, activists and journalists.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says one of its senior staff members was targeted five times last year with Pegasus, a spyware made by the Israeli company NSO Group.

The software was used against Lama Fakih, director of the New York-based group’s Beirut office who also oversees its crisis response in countries including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Israel, Myanmar, the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria and the United States, HRW said on Wednesday.

Fakih’s phone was breached five times between April and August of 2021, but the organisation said it did not know who targeted her.

The NSO Group, which does not disclose its client list, has been mired in controversy in recent years following investigations by researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, along with several rights groups and media outlets, that found that the technology has been used by governments across the world to access the smartphones of political opponents, activists and journalists.


Recounting being notified by Apple in November 2021 that she had been a victim of a “state-sponsored” attack on her iPhone, Fakih said she “felt dread and disbelief”.

“You have a million thoughts going through your head. Why would I be targeted in this way and how? What government did this?” Fakih said in a Q&A published by HRW on Wednesday.

“What does this mean for my security and for the security of everyone whose data may have been compromised as a result of the attack?”

She said HRW later determined that her phone had been hacked using Pegasus. The conclusion was peer-reviewed and confirmed by Amnesty International’s Security Lab.

“After all this, we decided to make this state-sponsored attack public, in order to raise awareness of this risk to civil society partners and contacts more broadly,” Fakih said. “Speaking out about these attacks is critical to stopping the unchecked use of surveillance technology.”


The NSO Group’s software has proven particularly difficult to protect against because it uses so-called “zero-click” technology, meaning a user does not have to click on a malicious link for hackers to access their device.

Facebook and Apple have both filed lawsuits against the Israeli company over hacks against their products. The US, meanwhile, has blacklisted the company, saying its tools have been used by repressive governments, and barred it from using US-developed technology.

The company maintains it has safeguards in place to ensure its products are only used to target suspected criminals and “terrorists”.


In a January 24 letter made public by HRW, NSO Group said it was “not aware of any active customer” using the technology against a staff member of the rights watchdog.

The company said it was conducting an initial assessment to determine if an investigation would be launched, noting that the targeting of a rights group staffer would be a “serious misuse” of its technology if the individual was not suspected of committing a crime.

The firm has also expressed support for an “international regulatory structure” to constrain the use of spyware technology, but has shrugged off calls to suspend the use of Pegasus until one is created.

For her part, Fakih said “it is no accident that governments are using spyware to target activists and journalists, the very people who uncover their abusive practices”.

“They seem to believe that by doing so, they can consolidate power, muzzle dissent, and protect their manipulation of facts,” she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×