PM Johnson's office hacked? Research group claims Pegasus spyware behind attack

According to a report, UK PM Boris Johnson's office was the target of suspected Pegasus spyware attacks in 2020 and 2021.

A report presented by Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said that suspected infections were linked to Johnson's No-10 office with Pegasus operators linked to UAE.

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The research revealed the UK networks were the target of "multiple suspected instances of Pegasus spyware infections".

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The research group said it has notified the UK government. The Pegasus spywarereportedly targeted the UK Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) which is now the Foreign Commonwealth and Development office(FCDO).

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"The suspected infection at the UK Prime Minister's Office was associated with a Pegasus operator we link to the UAE," it said.

Last year Google had described how Israel's Pegasus software had hacked into iPhones. NSO's Pegasus software can reportedly target a person's phone even though a user hasn't clicked on a phishing link. Google called it "zero-click exploitation technology" meaning "no-user interaction" was detected during the hacking.

NSO reportedly can also generate "one-click exploit" when a user clicks on a link ensuring a malware attack.

The Citizen Lab claimed since the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its successor office FCDO have personnel in several countries the infections could have been "related to FCO devices located abroad and using foreign SIM cards, similar to the hacking of foreign phone numbers used by US State Department employees in Uganda in 2021."

The group asked the UK government to take "appropriate action" to "mitigate" the threat.

(With inputs from Agencies)