Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Jun 13, 2025

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Escalates with Cyber Attacks Against Journalists and Human Rights Defenders

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Escalates with Cyber Attacks Against Journalists and Human Rights Defenders

The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has escalated with a hacking campaign targeting journalists, human rights advocates, a UN representative, and civil society members.
The hacking appears to be closely linked to the military conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and the use of military-grade spyware, Pegasus, has been documented for the first time in a military conflict.

The investigation was conducted by researchers at Access Now, CyberHUB-AM, the Citizen Lab, Amnesty International, and Ruben Muradyan.

Anna Naghdalyan, a former Armenia foreign ministry spokesperson, was hacked at least 27 times, and researchers say the timing of the attacks put her "squarely in the most sensitive conversations and negotiations related to the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis." The use of Pegasus has raised concerns about the safety of international organizations, journalists, and others working around conflicts.

The article suggests that both Armenia and Azerbaijan may have been interested in hacking individuals related to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, but there is no evidence to suggest that Armenia has ever used the Pegasus spyware.

On the other hand, there is evidence pointing to Azerbaijan as an NSO customer, including some Pegasus one-click infections linked to infrastructure that masqueraded as Azerbaijani political websites.

The embassies of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the US did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NSO has said it investigates credible reports of its spyware being abused by government clients.

In 2021, the Biden administration placed NSO Group on a blacklist due to concerns that its technology was being used to maliciously target government officials, journalists, business people, activists, and embassy workers.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Two Women Found Dead in Eryri National Park
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Pentagon Initiates Review of AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Pact
Meta to Invest $15 Billion in Scale AI to Advance AGI Goals
Rare Cancer Cases Triple Among Millennials, Alarming Doctors
G7 Finance Ministers Convene in Canada with Focus on Ukraine and Trade Tariffs
UK Spending Review Prioritizes Health and Defence Amid Budget Constraints
US Raises Security Concerns Over Proposed Chinese Embassy in London
Defined Benefit Pension Reforms Expected to Unlock Limited Investment
UK Industrial Strategy Launch Delayed Amid Budget Negotiations
Crick Institute Seeks Additional Funding to Attract International Scientists
Zia Yusuf Returns to Reform UK in New Role After Brief Resignation
Bezos's Lavish Venice Wedding Sparks Local Protests
US Urges UK to Raise Defence Spending to 5% of GDP
Europe Prepares for Historic Lunar Rover Landing
Italian Parents Seek Therapy Amid Lengthy School Holidays
British Fishing Vessel Seized by France Fined €30,000
Dutch Government Collapses Amid Migration Policy Dispute
Germany Moves to Expedite Migrant Deportations
UK Commits to 3.5% GDP Defence Spending Under NATO Pressure
Scientist Returns Royal Society Prize in Protest Over Elon Musk's Fellowship
Chancellor Proposes 'Housing Bank' and £25 Billion Social Housing Boost
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows in May Amid Consumer Caution
Home Secretary Directed to Find Budget Savings to Protect Police Funding
Rolls-Royce Secures Government Backing for UK's First Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
Domestic Buyers Capitalize on London Property Market as Non-Doms Retreat
Nvidia CEO Criticizes UK's Digital Infrastructure Amid £1 Billion AI Investment Pledge
UK Commits Additional £11.5 Billion to Sizewell C Nuclear Project
UK Unemployment Reaches Near Four-Year High as Wage Growth Slows
Chancellor Reinstates Winter Fuel Payments for Majority of Pensioners
Simone Biles and Riley Gaines Clash Over Transgender Athletes in Women's Sports
California Governor Disputes National Guard Deployment Amid Rising Tensions
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
US and China Engage in Trade Discussions in London Amid Ongoing Tensions
Low Turnout Jeopardizes Italy's Citizenship Reform Referendum
EU Lawmaker Calls for Broader Exemptions in Supply Chain Legislation
France's Defense Spending Plans Threatened by High National Debt
European Small-Cap Stocks Outperform U.S. Rivals Amid Growth Revival
Switzerland Proposes $26 Billion Capital Increase for UBS
Germany's Merz Signals Continued U.S. Reliance After Meeting with Trump
Transatlantic Interest Rate Divergence Widens as Trump Pressures Powell
Sam Altman's Eye-Scanning Digital ID Project Launches in UK
Qualcomm to Acquire UK's Alphawave in $2.4 Billion Deal
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
×