European political dissidents, human rights activists and journalists are among thousands worldwide being spied on by malware sold to authoritarian regimes, a media investigation has claimed.
Journalists were allegedly spied upon in Hungary and France and the revelations have prompted calls for inquiries.
The Pegasus Project investigation, released on Monday, is based on a list of more than 50,000 mobile phone numbers believed to be targeted by the malware by the Israel-based NSO Group and leaked to the Paris-based nonprofit Forbidden stories and human rights group Amnesty International.
The military-grade malware infects phones, allowing the operator to access messages, photos, emails, and location data as well as surreptitiously control the device s microphones and cameras.