NSO Group—Pegasus used to target at least 25 Mexican journalists, including Cecilio Pineda weeks before his murder in 2017
The Pegasus Project investigation revealed that at least 25 Mexican journalists were selected for targeting with Pegasus spyware over a two-year period. Among them was journalist Cecilio Pineda, whose phone was selected for targeting just weeks before he was killed in March 2017. Mexico was one of the earliest and most prolific users of Pegasus, with documented targeting of journalists, activists, and political opponents by Mexican authorities.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Safety for Vulnerable Users | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Press Freedom | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Surveillance Technology | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.983 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
Pegasus Project revealed Mexican journalist Cecilio Pineda targeted weeks before his murder
The Pegasus Project investigation revealed that Mexican journalist Cecilio Pineda's phone was selected for targeting with Pegasus just weeks before he was killed in March 2017. At least 25 Mexican journalists were identified as potential targets over a two-year period.