Targeting Jordanian activists with an Israeli spy program and accusing official bodies What is the story?

Human rights and technology research organizations Front Line Defenders and Citizen Lab have found that the mobile phones of four Jordanian activists were hacked over a two-year period using spyware made by the Israeli company NSO.

Digital rights researchers have concluded that the mobile phones of four Jordanian human rights activists were hacked over the course of two years using software made by the Israeli spyware company NSO.

The findings of "Front Line Defenders and Citizen Lab" Tuesday said that some of the hacking operations appear to have been carried out by the Jordanian government.

The report is the latest in a series of reports linking NSO's "Pegasus" spyware program to violations against human rights activists and political opponents.

Jordan denied the allegations, while NSO had no comment on the findings, but said the monitoring of political activists by any client amounted to "severe misuse" of its product, according to the Associated Press.

Both the company and the Israeli government have faced repeated criticism over their control practices.

The report named the activists as Ahmed Al-Nuaimat, an anti-corruption activist who said Jordan prevented him from working or leaving the country, Malik Abu Orabi, a human rights lawyer, and Suhair Jaradat, a journalist and human rights activist. He said another human rights activist and journalist had been targeted, but she asked not to be named due to security concerns.

The report noted that at least two targets were breached by operators “mainly focused on Jordan.” He added that two of the operators were identified, which "are likely to be devices belonging to the Jordanian government."

Earlier this year, Front Line Defenders said another Jordanian activist, Hala Ahed Deeb, was hacked by the NSO program.

Front Line Defenders, a non-profit rights organization based in Ireland, says it provides assistance to human rights activists at risk.

The Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto, conducts research on information technology, security, and human rights. The two organizations had previously investigated NSO.

According to their joint report, the hacks occurred between August 2019 and December 2021. The two organizations said the latest hack occurred on an iPhone, indicating that NSA and Apple continued to target Apple's operating system even after a lawsuit by the technology company. The global giant regarding previous breakthroughs.

In a statement, Andrew Anderson, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders, said the research “shows that human rights defenders who carry out legitimate and peaceful work continue to be targeted by local authorities” in the Middle East.

The Jordan National Center for Cyber ​​Security "categorically" denied the report's findings.

He added, "These allegations are baseless, and Jordan has not cooperated with any agents with the aim of spying on citizens' phones or censoring their calls."