Tensions rise over Spanish security breaches
SPAIN’S government has said it has nothing to hide amid mounting unease over national security controversies involving Pegasus spyware, including the hacking of the prime minister’s mobile phone and spying on Catalan separatists by unknown agents.
Cabinet spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez promised that the Socialist-led coalition government would engage in “the utmost collaboration with the legal authorities, including declassifying relevant documents if it proves necessary”.
Ms Rodriguez faced a barrage of questions about the extraordinary security breaches after the weekly Cabinet meeting, when she failed to mention them in her opening remarks as the government tries to contain the political damage from the recent spying revelations.
The government revealed on Monday that the mobile phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defence Minister Margarita Robles were infected last year with Pegasus spyware, which is available only to countries’ government agencies.
Covert spying operations in Spain require judicial consent.
Ms Rodriguez, the Cabinet spokeswoman, said the government found out only last weekend that the mobile phones of Mr Sanchez and Ms Robles had been targeted last year.
The powerful spyware silently infiltrates phones or other devices to harvest data and potentially spy on their owners.