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Al Jazeera journalists reportedly hacked with Israeli-made spyware

Thirty-six Al Jazeera staff members were targeted in an attack that some have blamed on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
A picture taken on December 5, 2019, shows a general view of the headquarters of al-Jazeera Media Network, in the Qatari capital Doha. - Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera has travelled a long and bumpy road from the early 2000s when it was best known for airing tapes of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. It now cultivates a loyal youth audience on social media alongside the satellite channels which have won it both acclaim and scorn. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty I

Dozens of journalists working for Al Jazeera were hacked with spyware sold by an Israeli technology firm, in what a watchdog group says is possibly the work of hackers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Citizen Lab, a watchdog organization at the University of Toronto, says the phones of 36 Al Jazeera journalists, anchors, producers and executives, as well as a London-based journalist for Al Araby TV, were targeted. Researchers traced the hacks to mobile phone spyware known as Pegasus, which is developed and sold by Israeli-based NSO Group.

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