Book Review: Pegasus: How a Spy in Your Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity and Democracy

Reviewed by paulml

Pegasus: How a Spy in Your Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity and Democracy by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud, 2023, ISBN: 978-1250858696

This is the true story of the newest way for governments to spy on their citizens: through their cellphones.

Using a vulnerability in iPhones, an Israeli company, (((NSO Group))), developed a way to install malware on a phone.  It would allow the government to upload the phone's entire contents (photos, phone numbers, and text messages) without the owner's knowledge.  It was marketed as a weapon against terrorists and drug dealers.

For authoritarian governments, like Morocco and Azerbaijan, journalists and dissidents belong in the same category as terrorists.

A group of French investigative journalists received a leak of 50,000 phone numbers from Pegasus, grouped by country.  The first job was to match a number to a specific person, without the person knowing.  The hardest part was to ask a journalist in Mexico or Turkey, for instance, to hand over their phone without giving them the reason.  It became possible to find Pegasus on a phone.  Of the phones that were tested - about 100 of them - the vast majority were infected with Pegasus.

It became necessary to bring in local journalists from all over the world to have them work on local angles to the overall story.  Absolute security was essential.  The slightest leak could kill the whole project, and cause governments to crack down on their citizens extra hard.

This is an incredible piece of journalism, and it would make an excellent movie.  As if anyone needs another reason to fear government surveillance.  It is very highly recommended for everyone, dissidents and regular citizens.