New York Times reporter Ben Hubbard published an article on October 24 claiming hackers were able to access private information on his iPhone after simply texting him in 2020 and 2021.

Hubbard discovered this after consulting with the Citizen Lab, a research institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto (Canada) that studies spy software.

The hackers used a piece of software called a zero-click exploit to break into the phone by sending a text message and without requiring Hubbard to access any suspicious links. "It's like being robbed by a ghost," says the reporter.

Citizen Lab was able to trace the source of the text to spyware called Pegasus, created by NSO Group, an Israel-based software developer that has previously been linked to mobile phone hacking scandals.

The rise of the spy software industry

Hubbard says he was the victim of a "run-in" with the growing global spyware industry, which sells surveillance tools to governments to help them fight crime and track down terrorists.

However, the reporter points out that these companies "operate in the shadows, in a market that is largely unregulated, allowing states to deploy the technology as they wish, including against activists and journalists."

Hubbard and Citizen Lab believe the hacks could have been carried out by the Saudi government, a country he has long reported on.

"I've been writing about Saudi Arabia for years and published a book last year about Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, so Saudi Arabia might have reason to want to look inside my phone," he said. journalist.

Hubbard's story has raised alarm bells and reignited concern about hackers, who already have sophisticated tools that allow them to hack into devices by sending text messages. Apparently, it is no longer enough for the user to ignore suspicious links, so experts are calling on Apple and other smartphone developers to update their operating systems to protect their customers from these new threats. .