BACKGROUND:
As reported by The Guardian, traces of Pegasus spyware were found on the mobile phones of at least five current French cabinet ministers, the investigative website Mediapart has reported, citing multiple anonymous sources and a confidential intelligence dossier.
<p>Pegasus is a hefty piece of malware that can be extremely intrusive if left undetected. If the phones of French cabinet members or anyone of high stature were to be targeted it is very difficult to stop it or even be aware of the intrusion.</p>
<p>With its zero-click entry to a device, Pegasus can easily be deployed. Unfortunately the most effective way to tackle it – if a flaw has been discovered but not yet patched – is to treat phones as if they actually already possess the malware and keep highly sensitive information well away from such devices. Politicians will always remain targets and need to be very mindful of the tactics used alongside this very sophisticated malware.</p>