AMMAN — In
response to a new report by the Dublin-based Front Line Defenders, the National
Cyber Security Center denied Tuesday allegations that government entities had
targeted the phones of Jordanian citizens using the Pegasus spyware developed
by the Israeli company NSO Group.
اضافة اعلان
In a report, the center called the
allegations baseless and said that Jordan had not cooperated with any party to
spy on citizens or censor their calls, according to the Jordan News Agency,
Petra.
It stressed that the Communications Act and
the Jordanian Cyberspace Protection System do not allow for violations of
private communications, in accordance with existing legislation and established
cyberspace strategies, policies, and standards.
Earlier on Tuesday, a joint report between
Front Line Defenders and University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab claimed that
parties “likely associated with the government” operate Pegasus from within
Jordan.
Front Line Defenders and Citizen Lab said in
their report that a digital forensic investigation uncovered Pegasus spyware on
the mobile devices of four Jordanian human rights defenders, including a woman
human rights defender, a lawyer, and a journalist. Through forensic analysis of
the phones of human rights defenders, the investigators identified two Pegasus
operators operating in Jordan. Those affected are all human rights defenders
working against corruption in Jordan.
The report, which has been obtained by select
news organizations, states that one group, “Mansaf”, has been active since at
least December 2018 at the earliest, while the other, “BlackIris”, has been
active since December 2020 at the earliest.
The report details the hacking of an activist in Jordan’s
Hirak movement, a well-known journalist, and a lawyer and member of the Freedom
Forum.
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