AWS shuts down NSO Group accounts over Pegasus spyware matter

Pune: Cloud services provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) has shut down infrastructure linked to Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group following allegations that its Pegasus spyware was used to target politicians and journalists in several countries, including India.

This follows reports by media organisations such as The Washington Post, The Guardian and India-based portal The Wire, on how the malware could have potentially been used to infect the mobile phones of politicians, journalists, activists and businessmen to snoop on their activities.

Amnesty International’s Security Lab had conducted digital forensics on over 60 numbers on the list, and found that the NSO Group had used the Amazon CloudFront service.


Amnesty International said it had reported this information to Amazon, and that AWS had “acted quickly” to shut down the implicated infrastructure and accounts.

“We shut down the infrastructure referenced in this report (by Amnesty International) that was confirmed to be supporting the reported hacking activity, in accordance with our terms of use,” an AWS spokesperson said in a statement.

Digital media platform Vice was the first to reveal that AWS had shut down NSO Group’s infrastructure.

In India, the Pegasus spyware has allegedly been used to spy on Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa, apart from several journalists.