'Polish Watergate': Tensions grow as Polish government pushed to investigate spyware claims
Poland's government is facing increasing pressure to investigate claims that it illegally used Pegasus, known powerful spyware, against its opponents.
Liberal newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza published a report on Monday stating that Poland’s Central Anticorruption Bureau had bought the software back in 2017 and that it has been using it since.
The powerful malware allows its users to remotely hack into phones without the target’s knowledge, accessing the contents or even taking control of the device.
A 2021 investigation found that Pegasus, created by the Israeli company NSO Group, was used by governments across the world to spy on activists, journalists, and politicians — including in France, Spain, and Hungary.
The NSO Group insisted that Pegasus' sole purpose is for law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and organised crime.
Now in Poland, there are allegations that Pegasus has also been used by the government to target and hack several opposition figures.
Gazeta Wyborcza also alleged that the malware was bought for more than €5 million using special justice ministry funds intended for victims of crimes.
The hacking allegations have been dubbed as a "Polish Watergate" — a reference to a 1972-1974 scandal that led to former US president Richard Nixon's resignation.
Last month, AP reported that the phone of a Polish opposition senator Krzysztof Brejza, who was head of the Civic Coalition election campaign at the time, was hacked 33 times in 2019, purportedly by using Pegasus.
Messages taken illegally from Brejza phone were leaked by state media, leading to what was seen as a smear campaign. The ruling Law and Justice or PiS party secured a narrow victory in the elections.
The phones of prominent opposition lawyer Roman Giertych
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