Spyware

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Saudi crown prince’s alleged hacking of Bezos raises press freedom concerns

Washington, January 22, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined U.N. human rights experts in calling for an investigation into the alleged hacking of The Washington Post owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The U.N. experts called the alleged hacking “an effort to influence, if not silence, The Washington Post’s reporting on Saudi Arabia.”

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The front page of the January 11, 2020, issue of Semana, pictured, alleged a widespread military campaign of espionage against the magazine. (Photo by CPJ)

Colombian magazine Semana alleges military spied on its journalists

Bogotá, January 13, 2020 – Colombian authorities must undertake an in-depth and transparent investigation into allegations that the military illegally spied on journalists, and ensure those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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An Israeli woman uses her iPhone in front of the building housing the Israeli NSO group, on August 28, 2016, in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. NSO Group has been accused of facilitating surveillance of journalists through sales of its Pegasus spyware. (AFP/Jack Guez)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Journalist targets of Pegasus spyware

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.

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The logo of the Israeli NSO Group company is shown on a building where they had offices in Herzliya, Israel. WhatsApp has accused NSO Group of selling technology to help governments spy on WhatsApp users, including journalists. (AP/Daniella Cheslow)

Indian journalists reported among targets of alleged NSO Group WhatsApp hack

New York, October 31, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news reports that several journalists in India have been notified that they were among the targets of suspicious WhatsApp contact that may have been used to install advanced surveillance technology on their phones. Facebook-owned WhatsApp this week said it filed a lawsuit accusing…

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Maati Monjib, right, chats with Moroccan journalist Hicham Mansouri in Rabat, Morocco, January 17, 2016. Amnesty International reported this month that Monjib has been sent malicious messages in an attempt to install spyware on his phone. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

Q&A: Moroccan press freedom advocate and NSO Group spyware target Maati Monjib

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…

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A visitor walks past company exhibition stands at the Cybertech 2019 conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on January 29, 2019. Reuters reported on August 22, 2019, that Israel has eased export controls on surveillance technologies. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)

Israel eased export controls on surveillance technologies amid criticism

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…

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Patricia Espinosa, the sister of Rubén Espinosa, a photographer murdered in 2015, and Alejandro Encinas, undersecretary for human rights, population, and migration, speak at CPJ's press freedom summit. (Ian Garciafigueroa)

Press freedom summit urges Mexico to reform journalist protections

On June 18, more than 400 people converged in Mexico City for CPJ’s Mexico Press Freedom Summit. Energized by a sense that the country is at a point of profound political change under the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the conference delved into the threats for Mexican journalists.

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Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi, who at the time worked for the website Le Desk, the website's headquarters in Casablanca, Morocco, on September 18, 2015. Radi and other independent journalists told CPJ about a climate of pervasive surveillance and harassment in the country. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

Moroccan independent journalists describe climate of pervasive surveillance, harassment

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…

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The WhatsApp messaging app is displayed on an iPhone in May 2019. WhatsApp is advising users to update the messaging app after a vulnerability was identified. (AFP/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Spyware vulnerability found in WhatsApp

[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…

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A screenshot of MCCI coverage of the May 6 cyberattack on their website.

Mexican anti-corruption news website MCCI hit with cyberattack

New York, May 10, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a cyberattack on Mexicanos Contra La Corrupción y Impunidad (MCCI), a Mexican nonprofit news outlet that publishes in-depth investigations into corruption in Mexico and Latin America.

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