Remember Edward Snowden and how he leaked highly classified information from the NSA in the year 2013 when he was an employee of the CIA. The amount of information revealed by him was highly classified and being a government employee, this was a very serious offense.
Now this was something that was “done” by a person and the information was deliberately “leaked” but what if we say that the leak has been overtaken by PEGASUS? Yes, it is a trojan virus that is implanted in iOS and Android, and it can access almost every section of your phone. Earlier PEGASUS was known as a Greek mythology winged horse that is now going places and snooping in the phones of government officials, journos, politicians, ministers, and others.
What Is Spyware?
As the name gives, Spyware is software that is used to keep an eye on people through their phones. These “viruses” are implanted in your phones, and they secretly transfer data to the server without your permission. You will have no idea about how the spyware is installed in your phone and what data is being transferred to the server. The data that is being sent to the server can be anything from your call records to your personal pictures. This data can be used to blackmail any official or person of interest in many ways. Here we are talking about Pegasus as this might be just the tip of the iceberg.
Cybersnooping has been present for a way longer than you can imagine. As already mentioned, Edward Snowden leaked a load of information about the government for which he was arrested. China, Israel, and many other countries were previously involved in the data leak and some organizations are still preparing such Spywares which is much more powerful than Pegasus.
What Is Pegasus And Where Was It Cultivated?
Pegasus is spy software that was developed in Israel by a cyberarms firm named NSO Group. Its first exploitation was identified by Ahmed Mansoor in UAE when he received a malicious text which he sends to the “Citizens Lab” to get it checked. He was told that if he would have clicked the link then his phone would have been jailbroken and the spyware would have been implanted.
A product of NSO, an Israeli firm, it was developed to keep an eye on the incorrect activities which include terrorist activities. The spyware infects the phone (both android and iOS) and works in a Slave-Master plan. The data of the phone is transferred to the Master server and from there the information can be used in many ways. the capability of the Pegasus spyware is such that it can turn on your phone’s camera and the microphone to record you and your conversation.
A staggering number of 50K phone numbers were identified which were under surveillance. These 50K numbers are from 50 countries. Pegasus software was made by the Israeli company NSO and was sold to government clients for surveillance, but it was highly misused in India. A tap on the link or not even the tap can embed the spyware in your phone. Many influential people were on the target for surveillance.
How Would You Know If Spyware Is Installed On Your Phone?
It is difficult to typically find out if there is any spyware installed in your phone. Not everyone has the knowledge about Spywares or what does it look like. Most of the time the performance of the phone is affected in a way that it slows down a little bit and the network connection is also hampered.
To keep your phone under check, you should take care of the flagged behavior in your phone. Check for MISCONFIG, temp folder, and install anti-malware to scan your phone. Since most of these Spywares are in the developing phase and at the basic level so checking your surfing history is mandatory. Look for any malicious or suspicious URLs as these can be the spot of spyware.
How will you keep yourself alert?
- If you see any lucrative link, then don’t click on that.
- If there is a free software download then check for the number of downloads, spellings, copies, and other similar things
- When you are giving acceptance to cookies than be aware of what you are agreeing to.
- Download an anti-virus browser extension.
- Don’t download anything from unofficial app stores
- Any irrelevant link sent to you on WhatsApp, Messages, Facebook should not be clicked. Links are malicious and suspicious, and they should not be clicked as you don’t know what lurks behind those links.
- Keep the latest updates of software and phone versions
- Use pop-up blockers
- Any link sent to you in an unknown email, refrain from clicking it.
- Most importantly, stay alert, no matter how strong the privacy is for iOS or Android, the data still can be leaked.
Data protection is on the top priority list of everyone. No one likes being displayed in public with all the dirty linen. Zindagi Technologies is an expert in firewalls and data protection and our techs will do the best in all processes of planning, deployment, and implementation. Give us a call at +919773973971 or visit us at our office for a discussion on the services we give.
Author
Shweta
Senior Content Writer
