Israeli police are under fire after a report accused them of using the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware to access the devices of the public, it was reported today.

The claims were made by the Israeli newspaper Calcalist, which contends that its investigation proves that the spyware was used on critics of the former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The technology, which has been called “the most powerful piece of spyware ever developed,” is said to have been used on activists, politicians and journalists around the world.

The new report claims that leaders of protests against Netanyahu, as well as mayors and government employees who criticized the leader, had their phones accessed with the spyware. Police never sought permission to conduct the surveillance and whatever data that was collected was not distributed to other agencies, according to the report.

“In all the cases mentioned in the article, and in other instances, use of Pegasus was made at the sole discretion of senior police officers,” the report stated. “The significance is that with Pegasus, the police can effectively hack without asking a court, without a search or entry warrant, without oversight, all cell phones.”

The news has enraged lawmakers, who have expressed that such hacking is illegal. Speaking to Israeli Army Radio, Cabinet Minister Karine Elharrar said this kind of surveillance was something that doesn’t belong in a democratic country, while other politicians weighed in on how undemocratic the hacking was.

Israeli cops have issued a statement denying any of it happened, saying, “All police activity in this field is done in accordance with the law, on the basis of court orders and strict work procedures.” Public Security Minister Omer Barlev, who oversees the police, said he would try to verify if the hacking was performed under the correct lawful authorization. He said an initial investigation found “no practice of secretive wiretapping, or intrusion into devices, by the Israeli police without the approval of a judge.”

As for the NSO Group, whose shady business has been blasted time and again, it repeated what it has said in the past.

“As a general policy, we do not comment on current or potential clients,” it said in a statement to the Israeli media. “We would like to clarify that the company does not operate the systems in its customers’ possession and is not involved in their operation. The company sells its products under license and supervision for the use of security bodies and state law enforcement agencies, to prevent crime and terrorism legally, and according to court orders and local law in each country.”

Photo: Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash