MADRID (AP) – Spanish officials said Monday that the cell phones of the prime minister and defense minister were infected with Pegasus spyware last year, which can only be used by government agencies through unauthorized operations.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s mobile phone was hacked twice in May 2021 and Defense Minister Margarita Robles ’device was targeted once next month, President Felix Bolanos said at a quick press conference on Monday. .
He said the violations led to the capture of large amounts of data and the hacker reports were returned to the Spanish National Court for further investigation.
“We have no doubt that this is an illegal and unauthorized intervention,” Bolanios said. “It came from external state agencies and without court permission.”
The government, led by Spanish socialists, is under pressure to explain why dozens of people were connected to cell phones linked to the separatist movement in northeastern Catalonia in 2017-2020, according to Citizen Lab, a group of associated cybersecurity experts. at the University. Toronto.
The ads involved at least 65 people, including elected officials, lawyers and activists, targeted by software developers of two Israeli companies, Candiru and NSO Group, Pegasus.
Spyware will silently penetrate phones and other devices to obtain data and possibly track their owners.
The regional government of Catalonia has accused the Spanish National Intelligence Service, or CNI, of spying on behalf of the separatists, saying relations with the national government have been “suspended” until a full explanation is given and the perpetrators are punished.
The Conservative People’s Party, or PP, was in office in 2017 when Catalan separatists declared independence after an unauthorized referendum, but no further action was taken to implement the declaration. The PP remained in power until mid -2018, when it was ousted by Sanchez in a parliamentary vote.
The ERC, Catalan’s main political party and a key ally of the government, has called for the resignation of Defense Minister Robles. But the spy scandal has left them under pressure from more radical separatists, who are calling for a cessation of support for Sanchez’s middle-left coalition in the national parliament.
The central government has tried to allay their concerns through promises of full transparency, announcements of the country’s intelligence agency’s internal investigation plans, and a separate Spanish ombudsman investigation.
A special parliamentary commission on state secrets has also been set up and the head of the CNI is expected to be questioned by lawmakers later this week, though discussions on state security issues will not be made public.
Source: Huffpost
