Direkt36 has revealed that the cyber weapon was purchased by the Hungarian state through a broker company that later became partly owned by Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér’s close confidant, László Tasnádi, who once worked for the Communist state security apparatus. The company also involved a businessman who had previous ties to the current left-wing opposition. Pegasus was considered such an expensive and top-class weapon by the intelligence agencies that it was kept secret even in internal circles.
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The inside story of how Pegasus was brought to Hungary
Így foszlott szét a kormányzati ködösítés a Pegasus-ügyben
Három és fél hónapon át próbálta az Orbán-kormány előbb letagadni, majd agyonhallgatni, hogy az államnak köze lenne a Pegasus-ügyhöz. Ez egészen addig működött is, amíg november 4-én délután Kósa Lajos az RTL Klubnak beismerte, hogy Magyarország megvásárolta és használja is az izraeli NSO Group Pegasus nevű kémszoftverét. Összefoglaljuk, hogy jutott a kormányzat a tagadástól a beismerésig.
Continue readingIn Israel, Pegasus was developed to counter terrorism. In Hungary, a top counter-terrorism official became its target
Former deputy head of Hungary’s Counter Terrorism Centre Zsolt Bodnár was selected for targeting with the Israeli spyware. Direkt36 found out that when this happened, Bodnár had a conflict with his boss, the Head of Counter Terrorism, who is also Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s former chief bodyguard.
Continue readingHe has been uncovering the lavish lifestyle of Viktor Orbán’s circles. This summer, he was surveilled with Pegasus spyware
Photographer-journalist Dániel Németh has spent years investigating and documenting the luxury lifestyle of Hungary’s ruling elite, following them with his camera as they travelled around Europe. This time, however, someone was watching him too.
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