The phones of the Spanish Prime Minister and Minister of Defense were hacked by an Israeli spyware | abroad

Bolaños said the hacking occurred between May and June 2021 using the Pegasus spyware. The Spanish newspaper El País writes that the information on the hacking has been passed on to the judiciary. “It is not about guesswork, but about serious facts,” said Bolanos. “We are absolutely confident that this was an attack from the outside, because in Spain, in a democracy like ours, all interventions are made by official bodies and with judicial authority,” he added. He did not say whether the Spanish authorities suspected the hacking was directed from abroad.

The Spanish newspaper El País writes that the information on the hacking has been passed on to the judiciary.

Pegasus was developed by the Israeli company NSO and is used by governments and intelligence agencies in many countries. The program has been criticized around the world for allegedly using Pegasus to spy on political opponents, journalists, and human rights activists. In February, the European Union’s data protection authority recommended a ban on its use in the region, and in early March, the European Parliament launched a commission of inquiry into Pegasus.

Pegasus has attracted a lot of attention in Spain in recent weeks after media reports that it was widely used by the government between 2017 and 2020 to spy on Catalan separatist leaders and activists. This has put pressure on Prime Minister Sanchez, as his minority left-wing government relies on the separatist party ERC to pass legislation. Last Thursday, the government narrowly pushed a major economic package through Parliament after the Equity and Reconciliation Commission voted against the Pegasus scandal.