Hamas Attack on Israel Is Not Prevented by Pegasus Spyware

Pegasus malware formerly attracted attention on a worldwide scale, notably in India where it was allegedly used to hack into different people’s mobile phones and take personal data. However, Pegasus was unable to acquire intelligence prior to the Hamas strike during the most recent Israel-Palestine war.

The Israeli cybersecurity company NSO Group created Pegasus, a stealthy spyware program that can be remotely installed on iOS and Android-based mobile devices.

Alarming allegations concerning the illegal use of Pegasus by the Israeli Police first appeared in January 2022. Whether on purpose or accidentally, this malware was used to spy on both domestic and international persons. Notably, this monitoring was carried out without court approval or a warrant and at the direction of senior police officers. The legal justification for this intrusive monitoring of civilians is still up for debate.

The police reportedly targeted people who were innocent of any criminal activity in a number of cases. This includes mayors, protest coordinators, LGBTQ+ rights advocates, workers at government-owned businesses, close friends of powerful politicians, and ex-government employees. There have been allegations that the police have even utilized the malware to obtain data on people’s private life.

Additional queries in the Pegasus Spyware controversy:

A critical software patch was released by Apple in September 2023. This action was taken in reaction to reports that the Israeli NSO Group had secretly installed the Pegasus spyware on iPhones and iPads. This action demonstrated Pegasus’s extensive capabilities and the urgent necessity to shield device users from such covert intrusions.

Despite these contentious events, Israel’s monitoring of Palestinian society has established a reputation for being very sophisticated and invasive. It has also developed a similar reputation for keeping tabs on Hamas fighters. It is thus unexpected that Pegasus was unable to recognize and stop the planning and preparations for an assault as important as the one launched by Hamas on October 7.

The recent occurrences have served as a harsh reminder of the difficulties and limits associated with surveillance technology. Even when more sophisticated skills are in use, these difficulties still exist.