Pegasus, a spyware developed by an Israel-based cyber intelligence and security firm NSO Group, is believed to allow anyone access to your phone’s messages, images, camera, microphone, GPS, and other information with voice or video calls made through WhatsApp.
It is almost impossible to detect the Pegasus spyware. Apparently a phone can be infected with Pegasus just by calling via WhatsApp. The user doesn’t even have to pick up the call and the phone can still get infected.
Another technique through which the spyware attacks is phishing. Opening the links sent via emails or text messages can lead to the attacker gaining limited access to the device.
Earlier in 2019, WhatsApp had sent alert messages to the list of affected users asking them to update to the latest version of the app. It was the only way to know if the phone was affected.
How to get rid of Pegasus?
According to cybersecurity analysts and experts, the only way to get completely rid of Pegasus is to discard the phone that has been affected. This is because the attackers can apparently access online accounts even after the device is no longer infected.
Citizen Lab suggests that even factory resetting your smartphone will not work as it cannot remove the spyware completely.