Spanish authorities have detected the “Pegasus” spyware on the cell phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles, government minister for the presidency Felix Bolanos said on Monday.
Bolanos told a news conference that Sanchez’s phone was infected in May 2021 and at least one data breach took place at the time.
He did not say who might be spying on the prime minister or whether foreign or Spanish groups were suspected of being behind it.
“The interventions were illegal and external. External means carried out by unofficial bodies and without authorization from the State,” he said, adding that the infections were reported to the Ministry of Justice, with the case being left to the Superior Court.
The announcement comes after the government came under intense pressure to explain itself after Canada’s digital rights group Citizen Lab said more than 60 people linked to the Catalan separatist movement were targeted by the Pegasus spyware made by Israel’s NSO Group.
Following allegations of spying on members of the Catalan separatist movement, the minority government’s main ally in parliament, the pro-independence ERC party, said it would not support the government until Madrid takes steps to restore confidence.
Gabriel Rufian, spokesperson for the ERC in the Spanish parliament, tweeted: “The State spies, spies and will spy”.
The European Union’s data protection body called for a ban on Pegasus over allegations it was used for abuse by client governments to spy on human rights activists, journalists and politicians.
Source: CNN Brasil
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