NSO Spyware Used To Hack Political Leaders In Poland

Spyware from Israeli tech company NSO Group has been accused in the hack of a leading opposition politician in Poland and several others, according to University of Toronto research group Citizen Lab.

The Associated Press and Citizen Lab have launched a joint investigation into cases of misuse regarding the Pegasus spyware from the NSO Group, revealing that Polish Senator Krzysztof Brejza was among those compromised. 

Brejza is a leading opposition politician in Poland and helped run a campaign against the current  government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Brejza’s mobile phone was hacked with sophisticated spyware nearly three dozen times in 2019 when he was running the opposition’s campaign against the government in parliamentary elections. Breiza gained popularity in Poland due to his critical views on corruption and was reportedly horrified to learn of the attack, as access to his phone would provide the attacker with information about his campaign strategy and anti-corruption whistleblowers.

Citizen Lab has also revealed that the NSO Group’s Pegasus software was used to hack into the phones of outspoken Polish prosecutor Ewa Wrzosek and Roman Giertych, a lawyer for Brejza’s party Civic Platform. 

Prime Minister Mr. Morawiecki and his administration have denied any involvement in the hacking. EU member states have begun to speak out about the troubling incident, stating that practices such as spyware against opposition leaders have no place in the region. 

 In total, Citizen Lab has reported that the Pegasus spyware was used to target at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists, and at least 600 politicians around the world.

APNews:        Citizen Lab:      Euronews:        ZDNet:       Oodaloop:  

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