Pegasus: What is it and how to detect this spyware?

Lately, there has been a lot of buzz about the app Pegasus, but few people know what it is. In this article, we'll explain what it is, what you can do to detect it, and how to prevent it.

Pegasus is one of the most important applications used for cyber espionage, which are known as SpywareThis malware is installed covertly on our smart devices using a link. It exploits the operating system's vulnerability and begins running in the background, so the user doesn't even notice.

FIt acts as a remote control with which the attacker tells the program what activities to execute.For example, the spy can ask this malware to obtain your passwords, your GPS location, and view your text messages and WhatsApp, iMessage, and Telegram conversations. If that's not enough, it can also access and steal your photos or social media accounts, obtaining relevant information.

Known Pegasus Attacks

Pegasus is an application developed by the Israeli company NSO Group. It infiltrates our smart devices, whether Android or iOS, due to vulnerabilities in their operating systems. All devices are vulnerable, and developers are addressing these issues. But in some cases, cybercriminals attack first and manage to do all kinds of things with the devices.

Since it is secret software, little is known about how it infects smart devices. So far, it is believed that it enters computers through links that arrive in other applications.

It is also unknown whether it is still in operation or not. In other words, it is unknown whether it is currently being used. The NSO Group itself has not provided information about whether it has been used, although recently It has become known that the mobile phone of Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, the Minister of Defense and 65 other Catalan pro-independence politicians have been hacked.The Spanish president had 2.6 gigabytes stolen in the first break-in, and then 130 megabytes were collected in a second intrusion. Meanwhile, the minister's data was only stolen from 9 megabytes.

A few years ago, since the 2016, Thousands of journalists have been attacked and one of the most notorious cases was that of Jeff Bezos, who had intimate photos stolen.

How is it detected and what can be done?

So far, it's been used against government officials and high-ranking officials. But if you still want to verify your device, There is a free app on GitHub call Mobile Verification ToolkitYou just need to download and install it on your computer. Then, connect your phone to scan it. This program also detects any type of spyware or malware.

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