The Guardian

Mexico accused of spying on journalists and activists using cellphone malware

Targets received SMS messages with links which installed software that recorded keystrokes and compromised contact lists
Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui holds her mobile phone during a journalists' press conference in Mexico City on June 19, 2017, on an article published by the New York Times: 'Using Texts as Lures, Government Spyware Targets Mexican Journalists and Their Families'. / AFP PHOTO / ALFREDO ESTRELLA / Getty Images

The Mexican government has deployed sophisticated software to spy on journalists, activists and anti-graft groups as they worked to highlight some of the country’s most notorious cases of crime, corruption and abuse of authority.

Targets received SMS messages with links which appeared legitimate but led to false sites and the installation of malware on their mobile phones, by the press freedom organisation Article 19 and Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.

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