A powerful spyware that was linked to the United Arab Emirates operator, which may have been able to monitor calls, messages and photos 24 hours a day, was detected on a number 10 device, according to claims.
It is believed that the cyber security attack was committed on July 7, 2020. This occurred just one year ago, when Boris Johnson was Prime Minister.
Researchers claim that Pegasus, an Israeli-created spyware, was suspected of infecting phones linked to the Foreign Office at least five times between July 2020 & June 2018.
These links were made to operators in India, Cyprus, Jordan, the UAE and India.
An investigative journalist for The New Yorker discovered that a number 10 device had been infected.
According to them, several phones were tested on Downing Street. The PM was also included in the test. Officials from Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre could not locate the infected device. Also, the nature or theft of data were never established.
John Scott-Railton was a senior researcher from the Citizen Lab Centre at Univestity of Toronto. He told the magazine, “When we discovered the No10 Case, my jaw dropped,”
He stated that Britain had underestimated the danger from Pegasus, and they had been left “spectacularly burned”.
Bill Marczak added, “We suspect that this includes the exfiltration data.”
Pegasus is a highly effective spyware used to infect computers connected to networks at 10 Downing Street.
Boris Johnson visited the UAE last month in an attempt to encourage Middle Eastern states to ramp up their production of oil – as Western nations look to wean themselves off Russian supplies
Pegasus is a virus that was created by NSO Group in Israel and has the ability to infect millions of Android or iOS-based phones.
Pegasus, once installed, can record calls and secretly record the conversations of the person.
You could use it to find out where someone is or where they’ve been.
Citizen Lab found the Foreign Office suspected infections.
Ron Deibert is the director. In an article posted on the website, he said that, because there are many foreign staff at the Foreign Office, it could be possible the infections were related to the ‘French Office’.Geräte, which are located outside the country and use foreign SIM cards.
He said that this was “similar to the hacking on foreign phone numbers by US State Department employees, Uganda 2021”
According to a spokesperson from the government, they are not allowed to comment on security concerns.
It is a shame that the leak about the spyware in a No10 device, which was linked to an operator from the UAE, came less than a month following Mr Johnson’s visit.
The trip was made by the PM to urge both Saudi Arabia and the UAE to increase their oil production as Western nations seek to decrease dependence on Russian imports.
Sources within the government said that they speak frequently with their partners, and are close to allies in an effort to combat threats and increase resilience.