He was a prominent opposition journalist in Russia It was monitored using Israeli spyware – According to an investigation by Canadian organization Citizen Lab and digital rights group Access Now.
Reuters stressed, “This is the latest evidence that phone hacking tools are being used to spy on media and opposition workers around the world.”
Hackers broke into Galina Timchenko’s phone
Investigations revealed that on the phone Galeny Timchenkoco-founder and publisher of an independent Russian portal MedusaSpyware created by Israeli company NSO Group. The hackers allegedly broke into the exhibitionist’s phone on approximately February 10, 2023. Investigators failed to identify the people responsible for these actions.
Timchenko was in Berlin at the time of the hacker attack. – The break-in made me feel like I had been stripped naked in the town square – she said to Medusa.
Organizations that monitor media freedom have condemned this surveillance, with the Committee to Protect Journalists stating that “journalists and their sources are not free and safe if they are spied on.”
The Israeli company NSO Group responded to the accusations and stated this “Always investigates credible allegations of abuse.”. But the company did not mention whether any investigation had been opened into the matter, nor did it respond to a question about an example of any previous investigation, according to what Reuters reported.
Israeli company blacklisted
Investigators, lawmakers and journalists have repeatedly accused NSO Group of helping governments spy on political opponents and undermining the credibility of independent information. In 2021 The company has been blacklisted by the US government Because of fears of human rights violations.
Reuters noted that the attack on Galina Timchenko was particularly prominent.
He founded the exhibition Meduza in Latvia after… She was dismissed from her position Editor of one of the most famous Russian news sites. Since then, the portal has become an important source of information regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
