GONE PHISHING

Israeli Cops Used Notorious Spyware to Steal Data From Netanyahu’s Son’s Phone, Report Says

Israeli police used NSO’s Pegasus spyware in an apparent phishing campaign against public figures.

Pegasus, Israel’s notorious spyware used by governments around the world, was reportedly deployed by Israeli cops to hack into the phone of Benjamin Netanyahu’s son and dozens of other public figures. The extraordinary claim was first reported by Israeli newspaper Calcalist. The paper revealed the hacking tool was used to swipe data from Netanyahu’s son, Avner Netanyahu, as well as the former prime minister’s media advisers Topaz Luk and Yonatan Urich in an apparent phishing campaign against Netanyahu’s inner circle. Other targets reportedly included business leaders, ex-directors of Cabinet ministries, mayors, and protest leaders. In a statement, Netanyahu’s successor as PM Naftali Bennett said Israel’s Pegasus spyware and other products “are important tools in the fight against terrorism and severe crime, but they were not intended to be used in phishing campaigns targeting the Israeli public or officials—which is why we need to understand exactly what happened.”