"Dozens of El Salvador Journalists, Activists Hacked"

According to the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, cellphones belonging to dozens of journalists and human rights defenders in El Salvador were repeatedly hacked with the Israeli firm NSO Group's sophisticated Pegasus spyware over the past year and a half. The Internet watchdog had identified the operator working almost exclusively in El Salvador in early 2020. El Salvador's government is currently investigating the use of Pegasus to hack phones in the country. NSO has claimed that it only sells its spyware to legitimate government law enforcement and intelligence agencies screened by Israel's Defense Ministry for use against terrorists and criminals. The US government blacklisted NSO last year. NSO said it does not operate the technology when it is given to a client, and therefore, cannot know its customers' targets. However, it said the use of its technology for monitoring activities, dissidents, or journalists goes against the intended use of such tools. Citizen Lab has been identifying Pegasus victims since 2015, finding the use of the spyware against journalists and human rights activists in Mexico and autocratic Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia. Many other cases have since been found, including some involving US State Department employees in Uganda, British lawyers, and a Polish senator. This article continues to discuss the hacking of El Salvador journalists and activists with Pegasus spyware and other victims of the spyware that have been identified since 2015. 

AP reports "Dozens of El Salvador Journalists, Activists Hacked"