MADRID – In the latest development in the Pegasus spyware hacking scandal, a European Parliament committee has called on Spain to provide greater transparency.
The committee, which investigates the illegal use of spyware in EU states, it has been investigating allegations involving the Pegasus software, which can turn smartphones into spying devices.
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On Tuesday, during a two-day fact-finding mission to Madrid, the cross-party European delegation urged the Spanish authorities to cooperate with the courts and provide maximum transparency in these cases.
‘Victims deserve more transparency
The committee’s chair, Jeroen Lenaers, a Dutch MEP, stressed that victims of spyware deserved more information and transparency. However, he acknowledged that the legal framework in Spain was “in line with fundamental rights protection”.
The delegation of ten MEPs from six countries has previously visited Israel, Poland, Greece, Cyprus, and Hungary as it investigates the Israeli-made software, which can read a phone’s messages, track its location, and secretly turn on the camera and microphone.
Catalan politicians hacked
Last year, Catalonia’s regional leadership accused Spain’s intelligence services of using Pegasus software to hack the mobile phones of dozens of separatist politicians. The allegations emerged after Canada’s cybersecurity watchdog, Citizen Lab, published a report in April saying the phones of at least 65 Catalan separatists had been tapped following the failed 2017 independence bid.
Related post: Phones of Spanish Prime minister and Defense minister hacked
