Threat Management

Armenia targeted with Pegasus spyware

Officials, journalists, and activists across Armenia were reported by Access Now, Citizen Lab, Amnesty International, CyberHUB-AM, and independent researcher Ruben Muradyan to have been targeted in at least 12 instances with the NSO Group's Pegasus spyware, Reuters reports. Azerbaijan has been suspected to be behind the spyware operation due to conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh or Artsakh territory, with Amnesty's Donncha O'Cearbhaill noting "extensive evidence" showing that Pegasus had been used by Azerbaijan against its opponents. However, such allegations have been rejected by the Armenian Embassy in London. "Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a strong public statement categorically rejecting the circulating information that the authorities used spyware against opponents and/or journalists," said the embassy in a statement, which also added that device compromise warnings have also been received by Pashinyan and his family. Meanwhile, Armenia was previously reported by Google to have leveraged spyware against dissidents in the country.

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