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INTERVIEW. Pegasus Project: “Smartphones can be real snitches”

50,000 targeted telephone numbers, including 1,000 in France: the Forbidden Stories consortium of journalists (of which The world and France Info ) and Amnesty International have revealed since Sunday July 18 a worldwide spy system of unprecedented scale.

Read also: Project Pegasus. Four questions to understand the business surrounding this spyware

Many personalities including Emmanuel Macron himself would have been targeted by software called Pegasus which provides access to the content of a smartphone and its various applications.

Maryline Laurent, professor at Télécom SudParis and specialist in cybersecurity returns to West France on the mechanisms of this spyware produced by the Israeli company NSO Group and the possibilities to protect against it.

Pegasus software provides access to content from a smartphone. By what means does he do it?

The operating systems designed by Apple or Android have a number of malfunctions. In this case, those who designed Pegasus detected a flaw that allowed them to install spyware on smartphones without the knowledge of their users. Once installed, spyware can run in the background for months and collect a huge amount of information. Apple and Android regularly try to spot these dysfunctions and correct them in updates. This is why it is very important to regularly update your device. Until this is fixed, the bugs persist and there is a vulnerability in the smartphone.

Can this computer attack be done completely remotely?

Yes, the software invests the smartphone without the knowledge of its user. The user does not need to click on an attachment or on a link as for a “phishing” operation (or “phishing” in French, a form of online scam that tries to steal data from a user by e-mail pretending to be an organization known to him). Generally, the user is wary of this kind of practice, it is much more devious.

Among the list of people targeted, there are a number of political figures. What can they do to avoid being spied on?

Politicians have specific materials called smartphones. They are constrained, limited, secure devices that reduce this kind of vulnerability. The issue is how politicians use these phones, they don’t always realize that smartphones can be real snitches. However, there is a certain discipline to be had.

It is very important to compartmentalize the uses. All professional and confidential information should only be exchanged through these devices and not with their personal smartphone. Otherwise, there is a risk of being exposed.

Read also: Secure phones, encrypted messaging … How Emmanuel Macron protects his conversations

But these secure phones are quite archaic …

Of course, you can’t install the latest application there. This kind of phone appears to be quite basic, but that’s the price to pay for better security.

In this case, in addition to having access to smartphone information, the Pegasus software would enable the device’s microphone or camera to be activated. Isn’t this an additional step in monitoring?

Over the years, smartphones have become more complex and today they are at the center of a maximum of uses. They have become everyday tools, with plenty of applications and we tend to use them intensively. But this practical side means that it centralizes as much information as possible about a user. In addition, it is lighter than a computer and therefore does not have the same security.

This software has been sold only to States. Could it also be accessible for individuals?

This software is very expensive and is rather intended for surveillance by political actors. NSO does not seem to want to over-market it and reserves its service for the States. After the question that arises, is that originally this software was intended to monitor only terrorist or criminal activity. We can see that there is a diversion of its use since it ultimately serves to listen to political figures, journalists, human rights associations …

In reaction to this affair, Emmanuel Macron will change phones. Is this a good thing?

Yes, clearly. Changing the phone means you have to repeat the attack to put the spyware back in place. Afterwards, his protection will also depend on the type of telephone he uses and to which he communicates his number. If his number is not widely disclosed, it makes his smartphone even more secure.

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