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PEGASUS, NEW CELL PHONE SPYWARE

Animal Rights was a political ploy to rob you of your Constitutional freedoms but Pegasus, the new cell phone spyware-malware, is an evil winged horse…

July 28, 2021

Col. Sam Harper, Dogsport Reconnaissance

My daughter came to me, worried about her cell phone because she heard about this thing. She remembered from her horse-crazy stage that Pegasus is a mythical winged stallion. It supposedly gives inspiration and power to heroes.

Clever name. We mulled over things called “catcher-sites” that are coded to reach out to animal lovers. They still exist but bigger and badder is the new spyware that can steal the privacy of friends and business associates you email or talk to. In 2021 we use cell phones for everything. Talking with a buddy a few days ago, we looked up Eisenhauer’s term. Easy.

Here’s the deal. Pegasus can steal your privacy AND that of everyone you talk to on your mobile phone! It looks like you won’t even know it happened or who Pegasus sells you to!

She kept digging, handed me her phone. It said this new-fangled thief sells your mobile device information “to any entity” willing to pay to cash in on you. She said “never swipe your phone to pay at checkout..” I don’t. She nodded, reading, then said it doesn’t matter, “Pegasus grazes 24-7 on your conversations.” She said it captures your medical records if you keep such information “handy” in your phone… Damn! I thought our military was well equipped…

She laughed, said a few words to her phone and read aloud… “Pegasus is military grade technology developed by an Israeli-based firm in order to track criminals and terrorists within their nation.” How “the horse” got loose is unknown but the technology has likely been sold to other governments.

I asked… she asked her device… yes, this mythical “horse” can penetrate both I-phones and smartphones. It can “extract messages, track phone calls and record audio” as well as secretly take and send pictures! She read that “over 50,000 target phone numbers have been revealed” … she pulled a face, said “grazed” by Pegasus.

We found reports on “more than 180 journalists” and prominent people in government. Laughing my grown-up kid said “This is when you do NOT want to be “rich and famous.””

It looks like news reporters are the target at this point in time but my bet is Pegasus thing will seek new pastures. De-buggers and phone companies are on it. Forbes.com just reported iVerify has developed the capability to detect the spyware. If so, it will hopefully castrate the gold horse, turning it into a gelding.

Cell phone providers are on mum but The Verge reports Amnesty International has created “a tool to search for traces left on iPhones and Androids by the NSO Pegasus spyware.” ^{{Ref #1}}

I called a service buddy who is a whizz on internet espionage. He said Pegasus is well-timed with people being bored and shut-in by COVID-19 and the theory is that it is China, that they had already developed the software before they unleashed the virus.

To my thoughtful “huh…” he said “yeah, perfect timing…the lockdown tripled cell phone use.”

He sent me this link how to check your phone for Pegasus spyware using Amnesty’s tool so my daughter will try it out. You guys should check with your cell phone service even though my bud said “mums the word” as they try to keep a lid on it. He has contacts everywhere (that’s his job) and said they are working on a safe solution. Note he said SAFE because his internet guru says “be careful” because… you guessed it, the fix could be just another version of spyware!

He cautioned me to “beware and be patient” then laughing, said the Israelis will castrate Pegasus! He said they are not taking kindly to being accused of turning Pegasus loose through their NSO tech group.

We talked a bit more about that but my word to TheDogPress.com readers is to be careful what you say whether online on or on your mobile device. Nothing is “secure” today. My daughter laughed, said “talk to your dog, he doesn’t share secrets.”

Good advice… I like to think she comes by it naturally…

Reference Information: {1} The Verge - Check For Pegasus Spyware

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