NSO Pegasus spyware found on phones of journalist

An investigation by Direkt36, a media outlet and member of the Pegasus Project consortium, has revealed that two phones belonging to Budapestbased photojournalist Dániel Németh were recently hacked by a government client of the Israeli spyware company NSO Group.

Forensic analysis of Németh’s phones, conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto and confirmed by Amnesty International, found that the phones were infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus surveillance software, which enables users to monitor a victim’s phone. The spyware can also turn a mobile phone into a remotely-operated listening device.

The hacks occurred in July 2021 while Németh was reporting on one of the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s childhood friends, Lőrinc Mészáros, whose companies often win lucrative government tenders.

A spokesperson for Mészáros’s company said in a statement: “Mr Mészáros does not pay attention to neither Dániel Németh, nor any other paparazzi’s activities, whereabouts or incidents related to them.”

While it cannot be forensically proven which of NSO’s clients targeted Németh, the revelation comes as Orbán’s far-right government is facing scrutiny in Brussels for its alleged use of the Pegasus spying tool.

Hungarian law provides that in cases where national security is at stake, the intelligence services can order surveillance with the signature of the minister of justice. Hungary’s justice minister, Judit Varga, has declined to comment, but said: “Every country needs such tools.”

NSO has said its spyware is intended to be used only by licensed law enforcement agencies against suspected criminals. It has said it does not have access to data of its customers’ targets and it investigates all credible claims of misuse. It declined to comment on the case.