Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud's Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy is the story of the most sophisticated and invasive surveillance weapon ever created, used by governments around the world to spy on their citizens and to target them with blackmail and intimidation...
Synopsis
The story of the most sophisticated and invasive surveillance weapon ever created, used by governments around the world to spy on their citizens and to target them with blackmail and intimidation
Pegasus is the most elegant and sought-after cyber-surveillance tool on the market. Developed by NSO Group, a billion-dollar Israeli corporate investor, this spyware uses a zero-click technique to infect any private cell phone without alerting the owner, virtually undetectably. Pegasus tracks a person's daily movement in real time, gains control of the device's microphones and cameras, and captures all videos, photos, emails, texts, and passwords--encrypted or not.
NSO Group casts itself as a global sheriff, a white hat in an increasingly dangerous world. But by early 2021, there were hints of sinister activities among a few of the governments who had licensed Pegasus. NGOs like Citizen Lab and Amnesty International detected a handful of Pegasus infections on the phones of journalists, human rights advocates, and political dissidents in Mexico and Morocco.
This is the inside story of a worldwide investigation, sparked by the leak of a list of fifty thousand targets selected by Pegasus end users, which revealed that cyber-intrusion and cyber-surveillance are happening with exponentially increasing frequency, across the globe, at a sweep and scale that astounds.
Pegasus, it turns out, is less a law enforcement tool than a weapon for hire and not only a threat to privacy but also to democracy, as the most notorious human-rights-violating governments and autocrat-wannabes are licensing and utilizing Pegasus spyware in the most vulnerable democracies in the world. Pegasus will follow the personal stories of real victims--intrepid individuals who have spoken truth to some of the most corrupt, risible powers around the globe. And they are the canaries in the coal mine. "If they've found a way to hack one iPhone," says Edward Snowden, "they've found a way to hack all iPhones."
Meticulously reported and masterfully written, Pegasus shines a light on the lives that have been turned upside down by this unprecedented threat and reveals the chilling new lengths that authoritarian regimes are willing to go to in extending their power.
Synopsis
The story of the one of the most sophisticated and invasive surveillance weapons ever created, used by governments around the world
Pegasus is widely regarded as the most effective and the most sought-after cyber-surveillance system on the market. The system's creator, the NSO Group, a private corporation headquartered in Israel, is not shy about proclaiming its ability to thwart terrorists and criminals. "Thousands of people in Europe owe their lives to hundreds of our company employees," NSO's co-founder declared in 2019. This bold assertion may be true, at least in part, but it's by no means the whole story.
NSO's Pegasus system has not been limited to catching bad guys. It's also been used to spy on hundreds, and maybe thousands, of innocent people around the world: heads of state, diplomats, human rights defenders, political opponents, and journalists.
This spyware is as insidious as it is invasive, capable of infecting a private cell phone without alerting the owner, and of doing its work in the background, in silence, virtually undetectable. Pegasus can track a person's daily movement in real time, gain control of the device's microphones and cameras at will, and capture all videos, photos, emails, texts, and passwords--encrypted or not. This data can be exfiltrated, stored on outside servers, and then leveraged to blackmail, intimidate, and silence the victims. Its full reach is not yet known. "If they've found a way to hack one iPhone," says Edward Snowden, "they've found way to hack all iPhones."
Pegasus is a look inside the months-long worldwide investigation, triggered by a single spectacular leak of data; a look at how an international consortium of reporters and editors revealed that cyber-intrusion and cyber-surveillance are happening with exponentially increasing frequency, across the globe, at a sweep and scale that astounds.
Meticulously reported and masterfully written, Pegasus shines a light on the lives that have been turned upside down by this unprecedented threat and exposes the chilling new ways authoritarian regimes are eroding key pillars of democracy: privacy, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech.
Synopsis
Featuring an introduction by Rachel Maddow, Pegasus: How a Spy in Our Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy is the story of the one of the most sophisticated and invasive surveillance weapons ever created, used by governments around the world.
Pegasus is widely regarded as the most effective and sought-after cyber-surveillance system on the market. The system's creator, the NSO Group, a private corporation headquartered in Israel, is not shy about proclaiming its ability to thwart terrorists and criminals. "Thousands of people in Europe owe their lives to hundreds of our company employees," NSO's cofounder declared in 2019. This bold assertion may be true, at least in part, but it's by no means the whole story.
NSO's Pegasus system has not been limited to catching bad guys. It's also been used to spy on hundreds, and maybe thousands, of innocent people around the world: heads of state, diplomats, human rights defenders, political opponents, and journalists.
This spyware is as insidious as it is invasive, capable of infecting a private cell phone without alerting the owner, and of doing its work in the background, in silence, virtually undetectable. Pegasus can track a person's daily movement in real time, gain control of the device's microphones and cameras at will, and capture all videos, photos, emails, texts, and passwords--encrypted or not. This data can be exfiltrated, stored on outside servers, and then leveraged to blackmail, intimidate, and silence the victims. Its full reach is not yet known. "If they've found a way to hack one iPhone," says Edward Snowden, "they've found a way to hack all iPhones."
Pegasus is a look inside the monthslong worldwide investigation, triggered by a single spectacular leak of data, and a look at how an international consortium of reporters and editors revealed that cyber intrusion and cyber surveillance are happening with exponentially increasing frequency across the globe, at a scale that astounds.
Meticulously reported and masterfully written, Pegasus shines a light on the lives that have been turned upside down by this unprecedented threat and exposes the chilling new ways authoritarian regimes are eroding key pillars of democracy: privacy, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech.