What is Pegasus Spyware in 2021? Everything you should know

Recently, the shocking news of Pegasus Spyware broke out and shocked people all around the world. It is said that the Pegasus Spyware was successful in hacking and extracting the personal information of around 10,000 people around the world. It is more shocking for you to hear that the 10,000 are not just any common persons. But, it includes several political figures like ministers, kings, business executives, journalists, and government officials all around the world. 

After the news broke out, several people are wondering, What Pegasus Spyware is. Therefore, here I am to explain to you What Pegasus Spyware is, how dangerous it is, and how it works.

Disclaimer: This article is only for educational purposes. To provide technical information for the users about the Malware (Pegasus Spyware). All the information is collected through various sources. We do not mean to target any organization or person.

What is a Spyware?

Before we understand the most dangerous type of Spyware, you must understand what Spyware is and how it works. Spyware is a type of Malware that enter and spy on another user’s device to steal personal information. 

The information can be pictures, videos, contacts, conversations, call recordings, business details, bank details, and more. Spyware can also automatically open the mic and camera services on your mobile and grab information without the user’s awareness. Moreover, hackers can even track your location and record your calls.

Spyware taking information

Usually, common types of Spyware can be detected and removed by installing Anti-Virus Software. However, there are also some dangerous Spyware types like Pegasus, which we will discuss in the next section.

What is Pegasus Spyware?

Pegasus is a Spyware Software developed by a Group named NSO. The primary use of this Spyware was to help Government Officials track criminals. 

How does Pegasus Spyware Works?

All software or operating system runs on a code, which creates bugs from time to time. Some bugs are easily detected, and the issue is fixed soon by the developers. However, there are some bugs or loopholes that can be used by hackers and cyber criminals if not fixed immediately. Therefore, top companies pay money to ethical hackers for finding and reporting bugs in their software (or code). 

Even the NSO group has several ethical hackers in their organization, who find out such bugs but does not report them to the developers. Instead, they use to infiltrate and hack information from a device. Moreover, they even pay other ethical hackers for reporting them such bugs. This reminds me of the term Zero-Day Exploits.

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What is Zero-Day Exploit?

As I mentioned above, ethical hackers get paid for reporting bugs to the developers. But, any group of cybercriminals can pay and extract information from the ethical hackers before it reached the developers. Therefore, it is called Zero-Day Exploit. Because the software developers have Zero time or Zero-Day to fix the bug.

Why is Pegasus Spyware Dangerous?

It requires user action for other types of Malware like Spyware, Botnet, and Trojan to enter a device. For example, a virus can attack your PC only if you download data from unsecured websites or connected infected USB drives. Similarly, phishing works only when a user clicks on any links. 

However, Pegasus Spyware doesn’t require the user to perform any action. The Spyware searches for any vulnerability in the software installed on the device and uses it to hack the device. Moreover, in most cases, the user doesn’t even know if his smartphone is infected with Spyware. 

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Furthermore, the Pegasus Spyware has the ability to self-destruct before getting caught. Pegasus Spyware exclusively targets Smartphones (both Android & iPhones). Besides that, Pegasus Malware works on the Kernel level. That means it can even access the settings which are restricted for the user. Another type of Malware that attacks the Kernel level of the device is Rootkit.

Check out more about What is a Rootkit? Why is it the most dangerous type of Virus?

How to Remove or Detect Pegasus Spyware?

Pegasus Spyware Detection is almost impossible. Unfortunately, so far, there isn’t any software to remove Pegasus Spyware. However, the human rights organization has developed a tool called Mobile Verification Toolkit, which can detect Pegasus Spyware. But, you would be happy to hear the probability of NSO targetting common people is close to zero. They mostly target high authoritative figures and criminals, as their data would be much valuable. 

Conclusion on Pegasus Malware:

Pegasus Malware is a type of Spyware that exploits loopholes in the software and uses it to hack and grab information from a targetted device. It is a highly developed Spyware, which cannot be detected by regular Anti-Virus Software. 

In conclusion, Pegasus Spyware is the most dangerous type of Malware discovered so far. Pegasus Malware was first discovered in 2016. There might be similar Malware doing its work without getting exposed yet.

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