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The program monitors applications such as Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook and Blackberry Messenger
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The Pegasus spy program allows you to activate the camera of a mobile device to take photos or recordings, as specified by the instruction manual of the softwareto which EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA has had access, which also points out that the product of the Israeli company NSO Group allows “unlimited access to the terminals, in which information about the relationships of its target can be remotely and covertly collected , location, phone calls, plans and activities.
It can also intercept calls and decrypt information, while monitoring applications such as Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook y Blackberry Messenger. At all times and from a distance, the customer who buys Pegasus will be able to obtain the positioning of his target by means of GPS, without a change of SIM card being able to stop espionage.
To infect the mobile device and transmit the information obtained, Pegasus installs an “agent” or Trojan horse that is compatible with the major BlackBerry, Android, iOS (iPhone), and Symbian operating systems. And the data is sent to Pegasus servers in a hidden way, in a compressed and encrypted way.
A NUMBER OR AN ‘EMAIL’
The Pegasus instruction manual specifies that to attack a mobile device only a phone number or email address used by the attacked person is required. It also highlights that there are two ways to inject the Trojan to the attacked mobile devices. The first is called “Over-the-Air (OTA)”, which is by means of a message that is sent remotely and covertly, and that installs the software without the owner’s knowledge.” The installation is totally silent and invisible and cannot be impeded by the target. This is the uniqueness of NSO, which significantly differentiates the Pegasus solution from any other solution available on the market.“, highlights the document.
The second way to infect phones would be through sending a text message (SMS) or an email, asking the target to open it. A single click, planned or inadvertent, on the link will allow the “hidden agent” to be installed. “Although the user of the terminal is the one who has clicked on the link, he will not realize that the software is being installed on his device“, completes the manual.
A PERSONALIZED MESSAGE
“The chances of the target clicking on the link,” the manual continues, “depends entirely on the credibility level of the content. The Pegasus solution provides a wide range of tools to compose an innocent and personalized message to entice the target to open the message“continues the guide.
The document classifies the stolen material as “textual”, which includes but is not limited to text messages (SMS), emails, calendar, call history, instant messaging, contact list and browsing history; as “audio”, which are the intercepted calls, ambient sounds, (microphone recording) and other files; and the “visual”, which are the camera photos and screenshots. Also available “records” and the location of the device.
But Pegasus has a utility that it calls “active”, which consists of use mobile devices to take pictures and recordings at any time. In this way, the client can directly intercept the calls that his target receives, record the ambient sound using the microphone, take pictures and take screenshots.
A STORAGE SYSTEM
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The collected data is stored encrypted in a hidden place on the device. This storage system is configured so that it does not exceed more than 5% of the free space available on the terminal: “In case the buffer has reached its limit, the oldest data is deleted and the new data is stored. Once the data has been transmitted, the content is completely deleted.”
The software it must be kept on the infected phone, so it will need updates, and will only be uninstalled when it no longer provides valuable information to the customer. “The Pegasus system contains a self-destruct mechanism for installed ‘agents’. In general, we understand that it is more important that the source is not exposed“, concludes the manual, whose content was advanced by La Sexta.
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