Spain: Hacked Catalans to launch a legal bid on spyware use

By ARITZ PARRA
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — Catalan separatist politicians and activists are launching a legal offensive in half a dozen countries against the Spanish state and the Israeli companies behind the controversial spyware allegedly used to snoop on them. The head of the Catalan and Spanish-speaking region also said Tuesday that relations with central authorities will remain strained until Madrid conducts a full investigation and punishes those found responsible, while the Spanish government rejects any accusations of illegal espionage. Citizen Lab, a team of cybersecurity experts, revealed what is believed to be the largest to date forensically documented cluster of hacking attempts with Pegasus, a program that silently infiltrates phones to harvest their data and potentially spy on their owners.