Espionage, Murder and Pegasus Spyware come to light in a special partnership between Exile Content Studios and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Hosts Rose Reid and Nando Vila examine the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and his inner circle that had the world's most sophisticated military-grade spyware confirmed on their phones. It's called Pegasus. How did this spyware come to be, how does it work, and how vulnerable are you? Every other week Shoot The Messenger investigates Pegasus, the Israeli technology company that makes it, the NSO Group, and the cyber war industry that is booming around it. You have heard the headlines — this is the deep dive.
9. 50,000 Phone Numbers
Shoot the Messenger: Espionage, Murder and Pegasus Spyware continues with its ninth episode, a conversation with Sandrine Rigaud and Laurent Richard of Forbidden Stories, the organization behind the Pegasus Project.
Published in July 2021, the findings of the Pegasus Project sent shockwaves throughout the world. The leaked data showed that at least 180 journalists had been selected as targets of Pegasus spyware in countries like India, Mexico, Hungary, Morocco and France, among others. One of the possible targets? Current French president Emmanuel Macron.
Sandrine and Laurent describe what it was like to watch these cases play out in real time.
Donncha Ó Cearbhaill of Amnesty International worked alongside the Forbidden Stories team running forensics on potential targets’ cell phones, searching for evidence of infection. The work they did together changed everything.
Shoot the Messenger is hosted by Rose Reid and Nando Vila and is a production of Exile Content Studio.
Guests: Sandrine Rigaud, Laurent Richard and Donncha Ó Cearbhaill