

Pegasus had previously come to light in a leak of records from Hacking Team, which indicated the software had been supplied to the government of Panama in 2015.
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The researchers noticed that the software's code referenced an NSO Group product called "Pegasus" in leaked marketing materials. The software can also collect Wi-Fi passwords. The software installs itself and collects all communications and locations of targeted iPhones. According to their analysis, the software can jailbreak an iPhone when a malicious URL is opened. Ĭitizen Lab and Lookout discovered that the link downloaded software to exploit three previously unknown and unpatched zero-day vulnerabilities in iOS. Mansoor sent the link to Citizen Lab of the University of Toronto, which investigated, with the collaboration of Lookout, finding that if Mansoor had followed the link it would have jailbroken his phone and implanted the spyware into it, in a form of social engineering. Arab human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor received a text message promising "secrets" about torture happening in prisons in the United Arab Emirates by following a link.

Pegasus's iOS exploitation was identified in August 2016. The company states that it provides "authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime." NSO Group has published sections of contracts which require customers to use its products only for criminal and national security investigations and has stated that it has an industry-leading approach to human rights. NSO Group developed its first iteration of Pegasus spyware in 2011.
