Tech

A serious threat: How do you protect against Pegasus, the state-grade espionage software?

The controversial spyware created by an Israeli cybersecurity company can be used in ways which threaten the security of companies, governments and citizens — what, if anything, can be done to mitigate the risks?

‘The Bezos hack might be the most high profile, yet it’s far from the only or even the most recent example of Pegasus being deployed for nefarious purposes.’ Jeff Bezos, owner, and Fred Ryan, publisher of the Washington Post, with Hatice Cengiz, fiancée of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Picture: Getty

In January 2019, Jeff Bezos, the Amazon tycoon and one of the world’s richest men, became the most high profile victim to date of a data theft which apparently involved a surveillance software system called Pegasus.

Bezos opened the pages of the National Enquirer to find details of an extramarital affair, and knew that something was off: the report included information that had to have come from his smartphone. But how had his private information ...