'Our perspective is that staying silent would essentially be an acknowledgement that the government is indeed involved in this,' the chairman of Hungary's parliamentary national security committee told the Associated Press.
Over 1,000 people in 50 nations were reportedly targeted for cellphone surveillance by Israel-based hacking group NSO Group, the Associated Press reported.
"Our perspective is that staying silent would essentially be an acknowledgment that the government is indeed involved in this," Janos Stummer, the chairman of Hungary's parliamentary national security committee, told the AP. The results of the investigation prompted three members of Hungary's parliamentary national security committee to call for an emergency session to question government agencies on their potential involvement in the spying.
The malware, Pegasus, infiltrates phones to vacuum up personal and location data and surreptitiously control the smartphone's microphones and cameras. In the case of journalists, that lets hackers spy on reporters' communications with sources. In response to questions from the AP, a spokesperson for the Hungarian government wrote in an email that Hungary"is a democratic state governed by the rule of law," and that state bodies authorized to use covert instruments"are regularly monitored by governmental and nongovernmental institutions."
The allegations of government spying come amid a rapid deterioration in media freedom and plurality in Hungary. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his governing Fidesz party took power in 2010, the country has slipped from 23 to 92 in the World Press Freedom Index ranking.
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