At least a dozen of civilians, including journalists, NGOs workers and Armenian officials had their phones hacked, during the conflict with Azerbaijan, using the spyware “Pegasus”, said Access Now on Thursday.
The targets are former Armenian Human rights defender Kristinne Grigoryan, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service journalist Karlen Aslanyan, and NGO representative and former Spokesperson of the Republic of Armenia Anna Naghdalyan, said Access Now.
Pegasus malware, created by Israeli company NSO, can take control of smartphones and provide remote access to data, microphones, and cameras.
Access News said that these infections are an addition to the growing list of known Pegasus attacks across the globe; however, they are the first documented cases of the use of such dangerous technology in an international war between two sovereign states.
Giving Pegasus spyware to any side of a violent conflict carries a clear and significant danger of aiding and abetting grave human rights abuses and war crimes.
Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics, fought for control over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in two wars, one in the 1990s and the other in 2020.