Spyware use on separatists in Spain “extensive,” group says

By ARITZ PARRA
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — A cybersecurity rights group says the phones of dozens of pro-independence supporters in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia, including the elected regional chief, were hacked with controversial spyware available only to governments. Citizen Lab says its large-scale investigation found that at least 65 individuals were targeted or infected with what it calls “mercenary spyware” sold by two Israeli companies. Catalonia’s independence movement has produced Spain’s deepest political crisis in decades. Citizen Lab said it could not find conclusive evidence to attribute the hacking to a specific entity but said circumstantial evidence points to some ties to Spanish authorities. The Israeli company NSO Group said the allegations were “not related to NSO products.”