By Ashwani Mishra, Editor-Technology, 63SATS
For years, Pegasus spyware has been a spectre haunting civil society—silently infiltrating the phones of journalists, activists, and political dissidents.
But fresh findings suggest that the surveillance tool is no longer confined to the world of geopolitics and human rights.
Business executives, dealmakers, and financial insiders are now in the crosshairs.
A report by mobile security firm iVerify reveals that in December alone, its forensic scans uncovered Pegasus infections on 11 out of 18,000 unique devices tested.
While this may seem like a small fraction, the implications are massive: high-profile figures in industries such as real estate, finance, and logistics are being watched without their knowledge.
A Growing Threat Beyond Governments
Pegasus, a sophisticated zero-click spyware developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, has long been marketed as a tool for governments to track terrorists and criminals.
But reality tells a different story.
The software, capable of silently infiltrating phones without any user interaction, has been repeatedly found on the devices of individuals who pose no known security threat—until now, those individuals were primarily from civil society.
The latest discoveries shift the narrative. The fact that corporate leaders—individuals with access to sensitive financial data, boardroom strategies, and billion-dollar deal negotiations—are being compromised signals a disturbing expansion of digital espionage.
A Silent Intruder in the Private Sector
Unlike traditional cyberattacks that leave traces, Pegasus operates in near-invisibility, exfiltrating calls, messages, location data, and even activating microphones and cameras at will.
According to iVerify’s findings, some victims had been under surveillance for years, infected by multiple variants of the spyware from 2021 to 2023.
The company’s detection system, driven by machine learning, has been uncovering more cases with each passing month. What began as a niche tool for civil rights activists has now gained traction among mainstream users, revealing a much broader footprint of Pegasus in the digital ecosystem.
Among the newly identified victims, one stands out: a European government official. The rest, however, are all from private industry—marking a stark departure from past trends. Business leaders from Switzerland, Poland, Bahrain, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Armenia are among those affected.
The Economic and Strategic Fallout
The ramifications extend beyond personal privacy. The ability to tap into executive communications could provide competitors—or even rogue states—with unprecedented leverage.
Insider information on mergers, acquisitions, regulatory changes, or economic strategies could be exploited to shift market dynamics.
Pegasus’s emergence in corporate spaces raises urgent questions:
Who is deploying the spyware?
While NSO Group maintains that it only sells Pegasus to government agencies, its spyware has repeatedly surfaced in unintended places. If state actors or unauthorized third parties have gained access to the tool, the potential for industrial espionage becomes a growing concern.
What does this mean for cybersecurity in the private sector? Companies have long fortified their digital defenses against ransomware and phishing, but Pegasus represents a different kind of adversary—one that can bypass traditional security measures with surgical precision.
How do businesses protect themselves? Advanced threat intelligence, secure communications protocols, and a new era of corporate cyber hygiene will be necessary to combat spyware intrusions.
Spyware No Longer a Government Tool—It’s Business Risk
Until recently, Pegasus was a national security issue. Today, it’s a boardroom crisis. As cybersecurity threats evolve, corporate leaders must recognize that sophisticated surveillance is no longer just a concern for politicians and activists—it’s a direct threat to business integrity.
The battle against Pegasus is no longer about press freedom or human rights alone.
It’s about economic sovereignty, financial stability, and the very future of digital trust.
