Report: FBI Purchased and Tested Phone-Hacking Spyware “Pegasus” for Domestic Surveillance

Today, the New York Times Magazine published a report revealing that the FBI purchased and tested the phone-hacking technology “Pegasus” from 2019 to 2021. NSO Group sold the FBI a version of Pegasus called “Phantom,” marketed exclusively to U.S. agencies, which could hack into “any number in the United States.” By simply entering a phone number into a system, the FBI could access “every piece of data stored on the phone,” including controlling the phone’s camera and microphone–all without the owner’s knowledge.

EPIC recently submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the FBI seeking information about its connections to NSO Group and use of Pegasus spyware.