Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Jun 30, 2025

Prominent Egyptian opposition activist's phone hacked - watchdog

Prominent Egyptian opposition activist's phone hacked - watchdog

The phone of a prominent Egyptian opposition figure in exile was hacked by two separate pieces of government-operated spyware, internet security watchdog Citizen Lab said on Thursday.

It said the surveillance programmes used against Ayman Nour, a liberal politician and critic of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, were made by the Israeli NSO Group and a previously obscure Europe-based firm called Cytrox.

Nour's Ghad al-Thawra Party blamed Egypt and another unidentified Arab country for hacking his phone. Citizen Lab stopped short of blaming anyone for the spying, saying only that Egypt was a likely Cytrox customer.

A separate report by Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc, also due to be published on Thursday, identified Cytrox as a spyware vendor.

Facebook's report did not address Nour's case but, like Citizen Lab, it said Cytrox had Egyptian clients.

Egyptian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MISUSE OF TECHNOLOGY


An NSO group spokesperson said deploying cyber tools to monitor activists and journalists was a serious misuse of technology and the company had shown in the past its "zero-tolerance for these types of misuse by terminating contracts".

Messages left with Ivo Malinovski – who until recently identified himself as Cytrox’s CEO on LinkedIn – were not immediately returned.

Nour has long been a fixture of the Egyptian opposition. He stood against veteran leader Hosni Mubarak in a 2005 presidential election. Shortly after the vote he was arrested and imprisoned for three years on charges of forgery that were widely viewed as part of a political vendetta.

He left Egypt after then-military leader Sisi overthrew a democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood president in 2013 following popular protests, eventually moving to Turkey.

"The shock was that there were two spying programmes, and not (just) one programme," Nour told Reuters.

"I believe that in 40 years of public and political work, as a member of parliament, as a presidential candidate, there were hundreds of signs of some kind of monitoring or breaches of privacy," he said. "For the first time I have evidence."

Ghad al-Thawra, which is registered in France, appealed to French rights groups including the Paris-based Reporters Without Border (RSF) to support Nour, who also heads a TV channel.

Toronto-based Citizen Lab said a second Egyptian figure had also been hacked by Cytrox. It identified the figure only as an exiled journalist who hosts a popular programme and is also a critic of Sisi.

The reports by Citizen Lab and Meta come as U.S. tech companies, lawmakers, and government officials are taking an increasingly hard line against companies whose software has been used to hack civil society figures across the world.

NSO was recently blacklisted by the U.S. government. Earlier this week a group of U.S. lawmakers urged the Biden administration to go further and sanction NSO and three other surveillance companies accused of helping authoritarian governments commit human rights abuses.

Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton said the compromise of Nour’s phone by two different hacking tools showed that the problem of mercenary espionage extended beyond NSO.

"There's a broader industry being used to hack exactly the same targets in exactly the same ways," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Black Box Recovered from Air India Crash Site
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
×