Widow of slain Mexican journalist said targeted by Israeli-made spyware

20 March 2019, 8:14 pm

Edit

An internet watchdog group says the widow of a slain Mexican journalist was the target of an attempted spyware attack 10 days after his death.

Toronto-based Citizen Lab says the attempt to place Pegasus spy software was aimed at Griselda Triana, the widow of Javier Valdez.

Wednesday’s announcement brings to 25 the number of known cases involving the spyware — including two of Valdez’s colleagues at the Riodoce weekly in the northern state of Sinaloa.

In this picture taken March 22, 2017, journalist Javier Valdez speaks during the presentation of his latest book, in Acapulco, Mexico. (AP Photo/Bernandino Hernandez)

The other two attempted hacks took place the day after Valdez was killed on May 15, 2017. It remains unclear who carried them out or for what purpose.

Pegasus was developed by the Israeli cyber security company NSO Group, and allows for monitoring of devices and their content, including the remote activation of cameras and microphones without users’ knowledge.

— with AP