Digital rights group Access Now revealed on Thursday that Israeli-made Pegasus spyware was utilized to hack the cellphones of at least 35 individuals in Jordan, including journalists, lawyers, and human rights activists. Among the notable individuals targeted were Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher, Hiba Zayadin, and Jordanian human rights lawyer Hala Ahed.
This cyber surveillance—executed from early 2020 to November last year—was not directly attributed to the Jordanian government by the report. However, Human Rights Watch’s regional deputy director—and one of the targets—Adam Coogle pointed out in an interview the difficulty in imagining any other entity besides Jordan’s government having an interest in such targeted hacking.
NSO Group, the Israeli firm behind Pegasus, claims its software is meant for combating terrorism and serious crime, emphasizing its rigorous vetting of clients. Despite this, the US government blacklisted NSO Group in 2021, with Apple suing the company for enabling widespread abuse of its spyware.