The European Commission chief said on Monday that the use of spyware to target journalists is totally unacceptable, following reports that spyware produced by an Israeli company was used to hack the mobile phones of journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world.
"If this were to happen, it is totally unacceptable," Ursula von der Leyen added. "It violates any kind of EU rule."
An investigation conducted by 17 media organizations, and its results were published on Sunday, revealed that the “Pegasus” spy program - which is produced by the Israeli company NSO - was used to hack the phones of journalists, officials and activists in different parts of the world.
The investigation - conducted by 17 international media outlets, including the French newspapers Le Monde, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Britain's Guardian and The Washington Post - is based on a list obtained by the newspaper. Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International.
That list - published by international newspapers and media - includes about 50,000 phone numbers believed to be from people considered by the Israeli company, NSO, for intelligence software, of interest since 2016.
The list includes the numbers of at least 180 journalists, 600 politicians, 85 human rights activists and 65 businessmen, according to the analysis conducted by the group. It was confirmed that 37 phones were hacked or attempted to penetrate the Israeli group's spyware program.
The investigation did not reveal who carried out the breaches and the reasons for targeting.
The Guardian newspaper said the investigation pointed to a "widespread and ongoing breach" of the spyware, which the newspaper described as malicious software that infects mobile phones, allowing text messages, photos and emails to be extracted, calls recorded and loudspeakers secretly activated.
News reports say that Project Pegasus research indicates that hundreds of journalists, human rights activists, opposition figures and politicians have been selected for surveillance using spyware.
The headquarters of the Israeli company north of Tel Aviv (French)
company reaction
The Israeli company stated that its product is intended solely for government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism and crime.
The company published a statement on its website denying the authenticity of the report conducted by 17 media organizations led by Forbidden Stories, a charity for the press based in Paris.
This company was established in 2011 in north Tel Aviv, and its spyware program, when penetrated into the phone, allows access to messages, photos, contacts and even listen to calls.
Earlier, The New York Times reported that NSO this month shut down the "Pegasus" spying system that it had developed and used to hack the phones of journalists in the Al Jazeera Media Network.
The newspaper quoted a source in the Israeli company that its decision to close the "Pegasus" spying system came after it was exposed.
An investigation of the “What is Hidden Greatest” program, which was broadcast on Al-Jazeera screen last December, revealed - in cooperation with an international laboratory specialized in penetration operations - the details of the Israeli spyware program Pegasus, and its advanced technology for penetrating and spying on phones, known as the “Zero Click” technology. (Zero Click).