It is a recommendation, but it is something that should have been a mantra for the European Union for months and it is worrying that it has not been before, in fact. And not just a mantra, a mandatory point for all member countries that conflicts with much more important geostrategic issues. We are referring to Pegasus, the spyware from the Israeli company NSO, which has been driving most governments and technology companies upside down since its use was known to control the opinions of politicians, activists or journalists. So much so that the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has issued a statement recommending that the program be banned in all partner countries.
But therein lies the basic problem. The EDPS lacks regulatory power and, in fact, the report is part of a preliminary analysis of the spyware community that could affect member countries. Although it has a power of influence within decision-making circles, so far the banning of Pegasus is just advice. One that confronts the politics of the old guard. And, in any case, they are late with this ban.
Already in December of last year, a group of European groups asked Europe for sanctions for the already proven cases of espionage. Because the alarms about the effects of Pegasus have been going off internationally for a long time, as well as its ability to jump all the walls of iOS and Android. Also to not be detected. In fact, the United States has already blacklisted Israeli spyware along with Candiru, another local company also engaged in Windows-focused espionage.
Three years to tackle a huge problem
Since 2019, the world drags the Pegasus issue. At least facing the gallery; since NSO was founded in 2010. The hacking of WhatsApp and the leaking of those affected throughout the planet put the issue of espionage systems in check. Official confirmation was never obtained, but Motherboard claimed that the Catalan independence movement had been targeted by the Israeli software. It didn't seem like a bad idea at the time; for the common good, they say. Later it would be known that Morocco would have used this system against France. Or that the German police had also resorted to its use on several isolated occasions. Also to control the opinions of critics against the government of Poland.
What everyone agrees on in this story is that using Pegasus is bringing the devil into the house
The cases of Pegasus in Europe began to be numerous and alarming. passivity as well. One that has been linked, in part, to the pernicious use of social networks to decide certain political elections. The elephant in the room that everyone knows is there, but nobody wants to talk about it so as not to intone the mea culpa.
Because if what everyone agrees on in this story is that using Pegasus is bringing the devil into the house; so much so that few service contractors have shown their faces. But it is still a story with many prisms. According to the ideals of the company, which by the way is on the verge of bankruptcy as the fence closes on its activity, its objective is to offer a system to prevent attacks, white slavery and organized crime.
Pegasus, the problem that is not so much
With this premise how not to contract your activity. One that, in addition and according to arguments from the active and passive technology, is only offered to governments and institutions. Who if not the Governments to have the power to hire an apparently lawful service? History has shown that this type of power tends to become corrupted in the hands of the administration.
And here the European Union, which now has the assessment of the EDPS, faces a problem at its own doors. Prohibit -or veto, which sounds less drastic- the use of an espionage program in their own member countries. Some who already knew, despite everything, that the use of these techniques represented a serious attack against the community rule of law.
“Since the specific technical characteristics of spyware like Pegasus make it extremely difficult to control its use, we have to rethink the entire system of safeguards put in place to protect our fundamental rights and freedoms that are at risk with these instruments”, is exposed in the recently published report. It represents an “unprecedented intrusion, capable of interfering with the most intimate aspects of daily life,” they add.
We have run into geopolitics
The theory is clear, but the practice is not. The Israeli government itself raised alarms about the use of the Pegasus espionage program on its own borders. However, it should be noted that for the sale of spyware to foreign countries, NSO had to notify the Government itself in order to obtain permission. This was not lost on France, which decided to wash the dirty laundry of the Moroccan case directly with Israel.
How an allied country had allowed such an affront? Faced with a widespread ban on Israel's own service, the geostrategic issue comes into play. The decision-making capacity of one of the most influential countries in the world would be questioned. Most likely, again, dirty laundry will be washed indoors. And if the Pegasus spyware ban does come, it will be quiet and, of course, late.
