Armenian special services use spyware to track opposition activists

The Armenian authorities have been trying to eavesdrop on the opposition using the Pegasus spyware for a long time.

A text message with a malicious link is sent to the phones of public and political figures, and if the subscriber opens the message, the program is automatically downloaded to the phone, and the recipient ends up being surveilled by the authorities, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Yerevan-based “Hraparak” newspaper.

Consequently, the phone turns into a device for tracking, listening, and transmitting information.

“This application has recently been sent to some of the oppositional forces as a link to the Hraparak.am website. Oppositionists receive messages with a link to our media, open, and find themselves in the trap of the National Security Service. They just have to be careful not to open SMS messages with links to Hraparak.am materials, but just go to the website,” the newspaper writes.