Hacking of Catalan politician’s phone heightens fears of misuse of spyware by Gulf States

According to a report in the Guardian yesterday, the mobile phone of one of Catalonia’s most senior politicians was targeted using spyware produced by an Israeli company and sold to governments around the world. The hacking software exploits vulnerabilities in WhatsApp to gain control over a target’s phone. Saudi Arabia is Among the governments the Israeli firm NSO Group list as clients, and it is widely believed that other Gulf States are likely to be utilising the spyware.