Malware

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the European Union to include effective legal safeguards in its planned legislation to rein in the abusive use of spyware against journalists. Negotiations on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), a draft EU law seeking to strengthen media freedom and pluralism in EU member states, are likely to…

Some 500 journalists have called on members of the European Parliament since September 14 to introduce an absolute ban on surveillance of the press through spyware in the upcoming European Media Freedom Act. Spyware, which secretly takes over electronic devices without being detected, puts journalists around the world at risk of increased harassment and violence and…

The current global health situation has seen changes to the way journalists do their job, with an increasing number working from home instead of an office. This is creating digital security issues for journalists and media outlets who still need to work during the coronavirus outbreak.

Pegasus is a spyware created for mobile devices which transforms a cellphone into a mobile surveillance station. Researchers have documented it being used to spy on journalists. This raises significant implications for journalists’ own security and that of their sources.

Pegasus, the cellphone spyware tool sold by the Israeli firm NSO Group, is one of the most powerful surveillance systems governments can buy, experts say. Researchers who study it have detected “45 countries where Pegasus operators may be conducting surveillance operations,” and detailed its capabilities: whoever tricks the target into clicking on a link that…

New York, August 22, 2019–Israeli officials confirmed that, under a rule change by the Defense Ministry, Israeli surveillance companies are able to obtain exemptions on marketing license for the sale of some products to certain countries, Reuters reported today. It is not clear which companies, and which products, were impacted; however, Reuters reported that the…

In March 2015, Hicham Mansouri emailed an anti-malware company, suspicious of possible signs that someone was able to access his device remotely, without permission. He remembers exchanging a few messages with the software company, but the correspondence was interrupted after a few days, when around 10 police officers in civilian clothes arrived at his home…

[EDITOR’S NOTE: See CPJ’s updated safety advisory here https://cpj.org/2019/11/cpj-safety-advisory-journalist-targets-of-pegasus-.php.] New York, May 14, 2019–A vulnerability that infects phones with spyware has been identified in the messaging app WhatsApp, according to reports. The attack targets users of Android and iPhone and involves calling users over WhatsApp. Those targeted report receiving a series of missed calls from…

[EDITOR’S NOTE: See CPJ’s updated safety advisory here https://cpj.org/2019/11/cpj-safety-advisory-journalist-targets-of-pegasus-.php.] In a report published on September 18, Citizen Lab said it had detected Pegasus, a spyware created for mobile devices, in over 45 countries. Pegasus, which transforms a cellphone into a mobile surveillance station, could have been deployed against a range of journalists and civil society…

The FIFA World Cup will take place June 14 to July 15 at 12 venues in 11 different cities across Russia. Under FIFA rules, it will be difficult for the Russian authorities to bar individual reporters or deny visas for specific media, but those who do cover the tournament may come under surveillance. Journalists are…