REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - A leading Russian journalist has had her phone compromised using Israeli spyware, researchers said Wednesday, the latest sign that phone hacking tools are being used to spy on media workers and opposition figures worldwide.
A joint investigation by Canadian internet watchdog Citizen Lab and digital rights group Access Now found that the phone of Galina Timchenko had been infected using spyware built by the Israeli company NSO Group.
Timchenko - the co-founder and publisher of independent Russian news outlet Meduza - was in Berlin at the time of the hack, the researchers said.
Media defense groups condemned the alleged surveillance, with the Committee to Protect Journalists saying "journalists and their sources are not free and safe if they are spied on."
Researchers, lawmakers and journalists have repeatedly accused NSO of helping governments spy on political opponents and undermine independent reporting.
Persons:
Galina Timchenko, Tatyana Makeyeva, Timchenko, Meduza, Raphael Satter, Daniel Wallis
Organizations:
REUTERS, Canadian, Lab, NSO Group, Media, Protect Journalists, U.S, Thomson
Locations:
Moscow, Russia, Russian, Berlin, Latvia, Ukraine