Pegasus is a type of malicious software or malware classified as a spyware. It is developed by the Israeli cyberarms firm NSO Group that can be covertly installed on mobile phones (and other devices) running most versions of iOS and Android. The 2021 Project Pegasus revelations suggest that current Pegasus software is able to exploit all recent iOS versions up to iOS 14.6.
According to the Washington Post and other prominent media sources, Pegasus not only allows keystroke monitoring of all communications from a phone (SMS, email, web searches), but also allows phone calls and location to be tracked while the NSO Group is both on the microphone as well as appropriating the camera of the cell phone and making it a constant monitoring device.
How Do You Know If You Have Been Affected?
Pegasus spyware is almost impossible to detect. According to a report in the Financial Times, a phone can be infected with Pegasus simply by calling it on WhatsApp. The user doesn’t even have to answer the call and the phone is still infected. You can also send it via email and SMS.
Pegasus is a sophisticated spyware that has some self-destruct and anti-forensic features that make it difficult to detect, even if it is later uninstalled, leaves no trace and there is no way to tell if the device has been affected.
Your phone has not shown any lags or visible signs of being infected with Pegasus.
Since WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against the NSO Group, it has also become known that Facebook’s own messaging platform has information about affected users, although it has not been confirmed exactly how many users are affected.
Additionally, WhatsApp has sent alert messages to the list of affected users asking them to update to the latest version of the application. So far, the WhatsApp message is the only visible indicator that lets you know if your phone is affected.
What can Pegasus do?
Image source: Pegasus product description