Laurent Richard

Pegasus

'A must-read' – New Scientist The gripping, behind-the scenes story of one of the most sophisticated surveillance weapons ever created – and an existential threat to democracy and human rights. 'Absorbing . . . a celebration of journalism' – The Guardian Pegasus is widely regarded as the most powerful cyber-surveillance system on the market – available to any government that can afford its multimillion-dollar price tag. The system’s creator, the NSO group, a private corporation headquartered in Israel, boasts about its ability to thwart terrorists and criminals. But the Pegasus system doesn’t only catch terrorists and criminals. Pegasus has been used by repressive regimes to spy on thousands of innocent people around the world: heads of state, diplomats, human rights defenders, lawyers, political opponents, and journalists. Virtually undetectable, the system can track a person’s daily movement in real time, gain control of the device’s microphones and cameras at will, and capture all videos, photos, emails, texts, and passwords – encrypted or not. Its full reach is not even known. This is the gripping true story of how the Pegasus scandal was uncovered, written by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud, the two intrepid reporters at the heart of the discovery. Working in collaboration with an international consortium of journalists, their findings shook the world. Tense and compelling, Pegasus reveals how thousands of lives have been turned upside down by this unprecedented threat, and exposes the chilling new ways governments and corporations are laying waste to human rights – and silencing innocent citizens. 'Thrilling . . . a timely reminder of investigative reporting’s power' – New Statesman