Durov Is Not Surprised That His Cellphone Was Hacked By Pegasus, He Has Known Since 2011

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram who knows that there are many hacks in cyberspace. (photo: twitter @durov)

JAKARTA – Telegram founder Pavel Durov, whose contacts are on the list of individuals targeted by the government of NSO Group clients by the Pegasus spyware, said he had known since at least 2018 that one of his phone numbers was on the list of potential targets.

The 36-year-old added that he was not worried because since 2011, he has been used to the assumption that his phone has been hacked. Durov was still living in Russia, where he was born, at the time.

In a lengthy note on his Telegram channel, Durov said that this surveillance tool used by the government can hack into any iOS or Android phone. He added that there is no way to protect mobile devices from the spyware. "It doesn't matter which app you use, because the system is breached at a deeper level," he said, on Durov's Channel on Telegram.

Drawing attention to the 2013 disclosure of Edward Snowden, a former CIA subcontractor who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA), both Google and Apple were part of a global surveillance program.

Durov added that their participation means that the tech giant will have to implement a backdoor into their mobile operating system. This backdoor, he says, allows US agents to gain access to your smartphone and thus the information on it.

Another major concern with such backdoors, says Durov, is that they can be exploited by just anyone, because they are never exclusive to any party. "So if US security agencies can hack an iOS or Android phone, any other organization that uncovers this backdoor can do the same," he said.

This is exactly what the Israeli NSO Group has done, selling access to a spy tool that allows third parties to hack tens of thousands of phones, the Telegram founder said.

While he underlined that whoever hacked his phone would be "very disappointed", Durov claimed that this surveillance tool was also being used against people far more prominent than him.

He then explained the fact that the tool was deployed to spy on 14 heads of state. "The existence of backdoors in critical infrastructure and software creates huge challenges for mankind," Durov said, adding that is why he urged the government to act against the Apple-Google duopoly in the smartphone market and force them to open up their closed ecosystems and enable more lots of competition.

Durov said that although current market monopolies lead to increased costs and violations of the privacy and free speech of billions of people, government officials have been very slow to act. "I hope the news that they themselves have been targeted by this surveillance tool will encourage politicians to change their minds," he concluded.