Pegasus spyware revelations are ‘a wake-up call for security on the internet’

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Following recent revelations that journalists around the world were potential targets of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, the chief executive of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, spoke to CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “This should be a wake-up call for security on the internet,” Cathcart said. This week CPJ also joined more than 150 human rights groups and independent experts in calling on states to implement an immediate moratorium on the sale, transfer, and use of surveillance technology.

Global press freedom updates

Spotlight

In the nearly six months since Myanmar’s military seized power, the country has become one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, CPJ found in a special mid-year survey and report. As of July 1, 2021, at least 32 journalists were behind bars in the country for their work. Watch this video with their stories.

In a CPJ-hosted press briefing to launch the report, Kamayut Media founder and editor-in-chief Nathan Maung recounted his harrowing experiences behind bars earlier this year. Maung’s colleague at Kamayut Media, Hyanthar Nyein, remains imprisoned and was featured yesterday in a full-page ad in The Washington Post.

A closer look | CPJ’s most-read features in July

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