When the military spy on citizens’ phones

tech companies like target and apple they sell users the promise of privacy.

They claim that encrypting their smartphones and apps will keep user data safe.

But there is a powerful form of spyware, called Pegasusthat we know can cross it.

This tool allows remote access to almost everything on a device, including microphone, camera, and location data.

You’ve probably heard of:

Governments have been using it in high-profile cases for more than a decade.

But the purpose of that espionage was difficult to trace.

The Pegasus maker doesn’t reveal who its customers are, and it’s hard to tell if a phone is infected with it.

It also wasn’t clear what information authorities were looking for on a device, until last week, when my colleagues Natalie Kitroeff and Ronen Bergman reported that the Mexican Army he spied on citizens trying to report their crimes.

The case offers a rare glimpse into the mechanics of how, exactly, governments can abuse Pegasus.

His report also illuminates critical details about the state of Mexican democracy at a time of civil unrest.

Below, Natalie explains why this case is so significant and what it means for the country.

Lauren: Hi, Natalie. Worried that the Mexican Army might be listening to your phone?

Natalie: My phone gets checked every few days for Pegasus. But we haven’t found anything yet.

Let’s take a step back. How have governments around the world used Pegasus?

Both democratic and autocratic countries bought the instrument from NSO Group, an Israeli company.

The company says it requires its customers to agree to use spyware only to fight terrorism or serious crime.

And there are examples of this:

For example, European researchers have used it to dismantle a global child abuse network.

But reports have revealed that, time and time again, governments have also used it to spy on journalists, activists and human rights defenders.

The Mexican government has also used Pegasus to capture the drug lord known as El Chapo.

So we know the government has used spyware in the past. What’s new in this story?

The Mexican government has been embroiled in scandals involving the use of Pegasus for years, including the spy on journalists and activists.

It’s nothing new.

The news is that we definitely know how the military spies on civilians.

A group of hackers calling themselves Guacamaya has hacked into millions of military emails and unearthed an absolutely staggering amount of data.

Among all those documents were these newly discovered files, which reveal details of how Mexico used Pegasus against a human rights defender and journalists investigating allegations that soldiers shot innocent people to death.

It’s a big deal for Mexico, but can you explain what it means for our understanding of spyware use in general?

This case offers for the first time a clear documentary record of what a state agent, in this case the Mexican army, wanted to see on the phone of a human rights defender.

It is an extraordinary document.

One researcher explained it to me like this:

It shows us how spyware operators took this person’s private digital life, threw it all on the table, and then found the parts that hurt him the most.

This news comes at a time of political turmoil for the country.

Citizens in more than 100 cities recently protested the government’s overhaul of a major election oversight body. What does this reveal about the Mexican government right now?

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obradorhe took office in 2018 on a wave of discontent.

He railed against corruption and promised not to spy on people.

This shows that government espionage continued under his administration.

Since he is the commander-in-chief of the military, it also suggests that he knew about this espionage and tolerated it, or not, and his own military was disobeying him.

This has raised growing fears about the growing power of the military.

The news also comes at a time when López Obrador’s relationship with democratic norms and institutions is being questioned around the world, but especially in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

This revelation offers the United States a concrete example of how its ally and neighbor is acting in an undemocratic way. Will Washington do something in response?

Washington wondered:

What is the proper role of the military in a democratic country?

The kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico this month has only increased their general concern for the country’s stability.

But the United States also needs Mexico badly.

The Biden administration has been reluctant to publicly criticize the Mexican government because officials fear threatening cooperation on migration issues.

It is a tense moment for Mexican democracy and shows how spyware purchased by democratic countries can potentially be misused as certain factions within the government, in this case the military, gain more power.

We do not yet know what impact this series of revelations, and others that may come, will have on the Mexican government.

But I don’t think we should dismiss it as something that could make a more lasting impression on this administration.

c.2023 The New York Times Society