President urges Colombians to inspect their phones for Pegasus spyware

10 September 2024 , 20:13

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President urges Colombians to inspect their phones for Pegasus spyware

Colombian President Gustavo Petro authorized a service on Monday to detect Pegasus spyware on civilian phones. This follows his announcement last week that the National Police had used the Israeli spyware for illegal interceptions during the 2021 social uprising.

"Anyone who suspects illegal infection of their phones can consult this page or use the government service we will provide. I urge young people, especially those connected to youth leaders who disappeared or died during the strike, to use these services,” he stated on X.

Last week, Petro revealed that the police purchased the Israeli company software for $11 million through two cash deposits. He also claimed that several magistrates, and even he, were victims of illegal wiretapping, with no judicial investigations carried out.

"The cash flow from Bogotá was declared at Israeli customs and deposited in the account of the company that owns Pegasus on June 30, 2021. The remainder of the payment was completed through a foreign exchange transaction on September 22, 2021,” Petro wrote on X.

The Colombian Attorney General’s Office confirmed last Thursday that it had begun a judicial investigation to determine how the spyware was acquired and where the funds came from.

Although Petro is unsure how many people were wiretapped or why, he said the software was purchased to spy on cell phones during the 2021 social uprising and before the 2022 presidential campaigns, in which he was elected.

The 2021 protests in Colombia were sparked by an unpopular tax reform, exacerbated by police brutality and inequality worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Official reports estimated over 60 deaths during the unrest, mostly civilians.

In the same year, OCCRP exposed how Pegasus spyware was used to monitor thousands of activists and journalists worldwide. Developed by Israeli cyber-surveillance company NSO Group, the technology can monitor phone calls, text conversations, and remotely activate cameras or microphones on devices.

Elizabeth Baker