UK Receives Alerts For Alleged Israeli Spyware Infections, Including In PM Boris Johnson's Office And Ministry Of Foreign Affairs

British PM Boris Johnson in front of his office and official residence 10 Downing Street. (Wikimedia Commons/10 Downing Street)

JAKARTA - Digital rights watchdog group Citizen Lab warned British officials Monday of the infection of Israeli-made spy software on electronic devices connected to government networks, including some inside the prime minister's office and the foreign ministry.

The spy software, known as Pegasus, is a product of Israeli cyber-weapons dealer NSO Group, according to a blog post published by Citizen Lab.

"We can confirm that in 2020 and 2021, we observed and notified the UK Government of several suspected cases of Pegasus spyware infection within UK official networks," the blog post reads.

Separately, an NSO spokesman said the allegations were "false and cannot be attributed to NSO products, for technological and contractual reasons."

Meanwhile, a UK government spokesman said "we do not routinely comment on security issues."

Citizen Lab said it believed the targeting linked to the prime minister's office was carried out by NSO's clients in the United Arab Emirates. While the UK Foreign Office hacks came from other countries, including Cyprus, Jordan and India.

In this regard, government spokesmen for the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, India and Cyprus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It is known that Pegasus can be used to remotely break into iPhones, give clients deep access to the targeted phone's memory or turn them into recording devices.

Citizen Lab found evidence of compromised British devices, monitoring internet traffic and other digital signals to spy servers that control Pegasus for various NSO clients.

"We identified the infection originating in the UK network based on the various network scanning methods we used, and alerted UK authorities of our suspicions at the time, so that they could act on it," Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert wrote in the block's post.

"We don't have access to any devices, and have no information about any specific victims."

Citizen Lab is recognized as one of the leading research groups on mercenary spyware in the cybersecurity industry.

Hacking activity connected to the UK prime minister's office was investigated by the UK's National Cybersecurity Center, where technicians tested several phones for malware, according to a New Yorker article about the NSO Group also published on Monday, but the findings were inconclusive.