10 Downing Street and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) were allegedly hit with a number of Pegasus spyware infections in 2020 and 2021, according to research group The Citizen Lab.

The organisation said that it notified the government of the hacks across the two government networks at the time.

Pegasus is a spyware technology used for government intelligence which is sold by Israeli technology company NSO Group.

The Citizen Lab says that the suspected infections relating to the FCO were associated with Pegasus operators that it has linked to the UAE, India, Cyprus, and Jordan.

The suspected infection at the UK Prime Minister’s Office was associated with a Pegasus operator it connected to the UAE.

“Because the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its successor office, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development office (FCDO), have personnel in many countries, the suspected FCO infections we observed could have related to FCO devices located abroad and using foreign SIM cards, similar to the hacking of foreign phone numbers used by US State Department employees in Uganda in 2021,” said Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab. “The United Kingdom is currently in the midst of several ongoing legislative and judicial efforts relating to regulatory questions surrounding cyber policy, as well as redress for spyware victims.

“We believe that it is critically important that such efforts are allowed to unfold free from the undue influence of spyware. Given that a UK-based lawyer involved in a lawsuit against NSO Group was hacked with Pegasus in 2019, we felt compelled to ensure that the UK Government was aware of the ongoing spyware threat, and took appropriate action to mitigate it.”

An NSO Group spokesperson said: "NSO Group wishes to clarify that the publications regarding the alleged hacking with Pegasus on phones related 10 Downing St are wrong and misleading and the company denies any involvement.

"For technological, contractual and legal reasons, the described allegations are impossible and have no relation to NSO’s products.

"As the New Yorker itself cited, no evidence of relation to Pegasus was found."

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