The surveillance was allegedly done without the required court supervision or authorization
Israeli police have been accused of using the NSO group’s Pegasus spyware to conduct warrantless phone intercepts of citizens without the required court authorization, according to an investigation by Tel Aviv-based media.
On Tuesday, Israeli news outlet Calcalist published an investigation into claims the country’s police have used the spyware to remotely hack citizens’ phones. Authorities are accused of controlling the devices and extracting information, despite not having secured warrants.
Individuals who are thought to have been targeted include mayors, protest leaders, former government employees, and a close contact of a senior politician, Calcalist’s investigation said.
Reportedly, “the hacking wasn’t done under court supervision, and police didn’t request a search or bugging warrant to conduct the surveillance.” Moreover, once collected there was apparently no supervision on the data being collected, or how police used or distributed it.
Israeli law currently only permits the nation’s domestic intelligence agency to hack phones without court permission. However, the outlet suggested police may have justified an exemption for it by claiming the technology used is not covered by existing legislation.
Israeli Public Security Minister Omer Barlev has refuted the reports, stating that there was “no practice of secretive wiretapping, or intrusion into devices, by the Israeli police without the approval of a judge.”
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