Israeli spyware found on phones of UN official, journalists, activists in Armenia

What did the investigation find?

The investigation was prompted by a wave of notifications that iPhone maker Apple sent users back in November 2021, warning them that they might have been victims of state-sponsored spying. The NSO Group only offers its services to governments and their organizations.

The hacks took place between November 2021 and December 2022 after the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, also known as the Nagaorno-Karabakh conflict, flared up in May 2021 after Azerbaijani soldiers crossed into parts of Armenia.

Among the victims of the spyware attack was Anna Naghdalyan, a former spokesperson for the Armenian foreign ministry. She was also targeted 27 times between October 2020 and July 2021 when serving her term as a spokesperson, The Guardian said in its report.

Another victim was journalist Karlen Aslanyan who covered the Armenian political crisis from a previous defeat in the conflict. Kristinne Grigoryan, a guest on Aslanyan's radio show, was also hacked a month after her appearance.

Five of the 12 victims identified by the investigation that was carried out in collaboration with Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto and Amnesty International's Security Lab have chosen to remain anonymous. This includes a UN official who does not have consent from the organization to come forward.

The investigation has, however, failed to identify the source of these attacks. Azerbaijan is a known customer of NSO Group's services, and its government has used the spyware against domestic opponents, too, Reuters said in its report. However, its embassy in London denied responsibility in a statement.

The Armenian government has also been implicated in using spyware against its citizens. The victims of these attacks were also critical of the government at the time of the attack. However, Armenia is not known to be a Pegasus user. Instead, it uses Predator spyware, a Pegasus rival.