Galina Timchenko, co-founder, CEO, and publisher of the Russian independent media website Meduza, was discovered to have NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on her iPhone.
Galina Timchenko, co-founder, CEO, and publisher of the Russian independent media website Meduza
According to the Citizen Lab’s collaborative investigation with Access Now, the infection could have lasted for days or weeks after the first exploitation.
The infection was carried out via a zero-click exploit, and experts stated that they were unable to identify the perpetrators.
Citizen Lab determined that the assault was carried out using the PWNYOURHOME vulnerability, which targets Apple’s HomeKit and iMessage.
According to sources, her iPhone was localized to the GMT+1 timezone when traveling to Berlin, Germany, on February 10, 2023.
The day after the infection, she planned to attend a private conference with other chiefs of Russian independent media exiled in Europe to discuss how to deal with threats and censorship by Putin’s dictatorship.
The attack comes two weeks after the Russian government labeled Meduza as an “undesirable organization” for critical reporting on Putin’s government and the Ukrainian crisis, and it coincides with European countries’ worries about Russian civil society in exile.
Apple notified Galina Timchenko and others in June 2023 that they may have been the target of malware, sparking the investigation.
According to reports, the iPhone device was infected on or around February 10, 2023, with the infection likely lasting a few days or weeks.
Like Pegasus, this advanced spyware bypasses encryption and seizes entire control of the victim’s phone, including access to images, messages, contacts, and the camera and microphone.
The use of spyware against journalists and human rights campaigners has been widely condemned by UN representatives, the European Parliament, the European Data Protection Supervisor, and civil society organizations all over the world.
Pegasus targeted Armenian journalists, activists, government officials, and civilians during the conflict in the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh.
There is no evidence that Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan targeted German, Latvian, or other EU nationals.
Due to the severe concerns to national security and human rights posed by NSO Group and other spyware producers, the US government has placed NSO Group and other spyware companies on its Entity List and restricted the federal government from using some commercial malware.
Keywords: Pegasus spyware iPhone infection, Meduza CEO Galina Timchenko, NSO Group spyware controversy
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