Pegasus is a piece of spyware created by the Israeli cyber security software firm NSO Group that can be installed secretly on cell devices (and other devices) executing most versions of iOS and Android. Pegasus is said to be able to use a zero-click iMessage attack to attack all iOS versions up to 14.6, according to reports. Pegasus may read text messages, track calls, gather passwords, track position, access the target device’s recording tools, and harvest information from apps as of 2022. Pegasus, the mythical horse of Ancient greece, is the name of the spyware. It’s a Trojan horse computer virus that can infect cell phones by “flying through the air.”
Technical details
The virus may be installed on iOS and Android devices that are using specific versions of Apple’s mobile operating system. [1] Instead of using a single security breach, Pegasus is a collection of exploits that take use of a variety of system flaws. Clickable links, the Photos app, the Apple Music app, and iMessage are all potential attack vectors. Several of Pegasus’ exploits are zero-click, meaning they may operate even without victim’s involvement. Pegasus has been claimed to be able to run exploit code, harvest contacts, messages, call logs, images, web history, settings, and receive data from applications such as iMessage, Gmail, Viber, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Skype after being installed.
Since 2019, Pegasus users have been able to install the software on phones that had a missed WhatsApp call, and they can even remove the missed call’s record, making it difficult for the phone’s owner to discover anything is wrong. Another approach is to deliver a message to a user’s phone that would not result in a notification.
Mechanism of infection
Infection occurs through cell towers, which have the ability to send signals to every phone in its coverage area. signals are targeting a separate processor called “Baseband processor”. This device controls the phone’s cellular abilities of the phone. And by cellular, I mean really cellular technologies like LTE, 5G, EDGE, etc., not Wi-Fi. The baseband processor is responsible for connecting and dropping phone calls, data transfer sessions, processes SMS and performs other cellular functions, sometimes invisible to the user, such as “Mobility Management”
Due to the specific structure of smartphones, the CPU (the main processor with which you interact) and the Baseband processor work autonomously from each other. Thus, the Baseband processor can receive, process information and even execute tasks sent to it in the form of a code in the radio wave range without asking the CPU.
This is how infection works with an instant call that lasts milliseconds and manages to leave malicious code on the target’s device. Then the virus hacks cameras, front and rear, microphones, and acquires the ability to read information from the phone’s screen sensor.