Pegasus is in the news again. The last time we heard about it in India was in It was 2019 – when some WhatsApp users – including journalists and advocates – received messages from WhatsApp telling them that Pegasus had exposed their phones. However, one might say that Pegasus spyware is not really out of the news. There are reports of hackers using the phone every few months, as it is frequently used in all countries around the world.
So, what is Pegasus, and how does it work? And do you have to worry about that? Facts First, fragments as we know for sure.
Spyware is a cyber tool that experts in the Israeli company Pegasus Enso Group. It first came to prominence in In 2016, he was arrested on suspicion of receiving a message from an Arab activist. Pegas was believed to be targeting iPhone users. Several days after Apple’s acquisition, Pigas released an iOS version that reportedly improved the security loophole used to hack phones.
But a year later, security researchers discovered that the Pegasus Android could contaminate phones. Additional security fixes and additional information have been tampered with. Since then. Facebook sues NSO Group to create Pegasus in 2019 Facebook security researchers are chasing Pegasus from all their systems and have found the software to be used to infect many journalists and activists in India. This is also the time when WhatsApp also affected affected Indian users via text message.
2019 to 2021, so why are we still writing about Pegasus? This is because the spyware has been called the “most sophisticated” hacking tool ever, and we are still hearing stories about the victim.
It should be noted that the NSO team confirmed the existence of Pegasus. However, he acknowledged that the Israeli company was selling the weapons to the government alone and was not responsible for any misuse.
How to hack a Pegasus phone?
This is one of the reasons why Pegas hacks into phones, which are highly rated by hackers. Phone hacking is flawless and the user has no indication that their device has been hacked.
Once a hacker has identified the phone he wants to hack, it sends a malicious website link to the target user and Pegas is installed on the phone if the user clicks. It also installs security calls through voice calls through apps such as WhatsApp. In fact, this is a very powerful and mysterious method of calling Pegas can only be downloaded to a user by making a missed call. Once the software was installed, it would delete the call log so that the user would not know about the missed call.
What can Pegasus do?
Once Pegasus is on the phone, it can fully and completely spy on the target user. Even confidential conversations via WhatsApp were accessible to Pegasus. Security researchers have discovered that Pegasus can read messages, track calls, monitor user activity in apps, collect location data, access video cameras over the phone or listen to their microphones.
Kaspersky researchers Here is what they wrote in 2017.
Let’s be clear: we are talking about general control. The Pegasus module is a malware. After scanning the target device, you can read user messages and letters, listen to calls, capture screenshots, record pressed keys, delete browser history, etc. And so on. Basically, it can spy on every aspect of the target’s life. It is also interesting to note that Pegas is able to listen to even encrypted audio streams and read encrypted messages – thanks to its kilograms and audio recording capabilities, it steals messages before encryption (and after decryption for incoming messages)
In other words, this is the ultimate spy tool. If a government wants to spy on someone, Pegasus or something like that, it might be his choice.
At the same time, Pegasus was a modern spyware. He took every step to avoid detection while spying on a user. Again, this is what Kaspersky researchers wrote.
“Another interesting fact about Pegasus is that it is really trying to hide itself. Malware will not be able to connect to the command and control (C and C) server for more than 60 days or it will destroy it. Installed on the wrong device on the wrong SIM card (remember this target) It was a spying operation, NSO clients did not leave accidentally infected people).
What is the current state of Pegasus?
So, what’s going on with Pegasus right now, and you have to worry about that? As for the classic Pegasus, it is no longer so important. All the noise around him now is in the past, not in the present. When the data was released, Apple posted iOS 9 to fix the gaps used by spyware to hack into the iPhone. Google and WhatsApp are closing in on a security crackdown when details of their targets on WhatsApp and Android are released.
In other words, if you have an iPhone or Android 11 running iOS and you have the latest version of key apps like WhatsApp on your phone, you don’t have to worry about Classic Pegasus.
But that doesn’t mean your phone isn’t hacked. There is no computer or phone to verify hacking. Software such as Pegasus uses zero-day security vulnerabilities to infect devices. This means that even companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, and others use security vulnerabilities in unfamiliar phones, computers, and apps.
The Enosso team still exists, and so might the updated version of Pegasus, or any other spyware unknown to the public.
But yes, the classic Pegasus is not something to worry about in 2021.
Also, it should be noted that spyware applications such as Pegasus are extremely expensive. It costs millions of dollars and is paid only by large corporations or governments. In fact, NSO Group has previously stated that it will only sell the software to governments. Pegasus is not like mass control tools. They are used for targeted monitoring. So, unless you believe that a government or a powerful organization has reasons to keep you under surveillance, you should not worry about tools like Pegasus.