Human Rights Watch staffer hacked with Pegasus spyware
A digital forensic analysis determined phones belonging Lama Fakih, HRW’s crisis and conflict director, were hacked between April and August 2021.
A top staffer for Human Rights Watch was allegedly hacked with spyware developed by Israeli cyberfirm NSO Group.
Lama Fakih, a dual US-Lebanese citizen, was targeted with NSO’s controversial Pegasus spying tool five times between April and August 2021, the New York-based rights group said.
Fakih, who is HRW’s crisis and conflict director and head of the group’s Beirut office, was notified by Apple in November that state-sponsored attackers may be targeting her personal iPhone. HRW’s digital forensic analysis then determined that Fakih’s current and old phones had been infected with Pegasus.
The rights group said Fakih’s phones were targeted in so-called “zero-click” attacks, which install the spyware without requiring the owner to click on a malicious link. HRW’s findings were confirmed by Amnesty International’s Security Lab.
