By Trend News Line 2024-04-10 21:26:13.
Spanish Intelligence Agency Exposed for Illegal Espionage
In a shocking revelation, the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) of Spain has been identified as the culprit behind a large-scale and illegal espionage operation targeting the Catalan independence movement. The use of Pegasus spyware to spy on at least sixty politicians and individuals associated with the movement was uncovered in the CatalanGate investigation of 2022. However, a recent expert report obtained by ElNacional.cat has confirmed what many suspected all along: the CNI was responsible for the espionage.
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Targeting Catalan President Pere Aragonès
The espionage operation focused on the mobile phone of current Catalan president Pere Aragonès, which the Spanish government admitted to infecting and spying on from 2019 to March 2020 with judicial authorization. However, the expert report presented to the court suggests that the spying actually began in the summer of 2018, as asserted by Aragonès’ lawyer, Andreu Van den Eynde. The report concludes that a single IT infrastructure was used to target all the victims of the CatalanGate case, pointing the finger directly at the Spanish government as the mastermind behind the illegal surveillance.
Details of the Espionage Operation
The report reveals that the CNI utilized the Pegasus spyware, owned by NSO, from 2015 until at least 2020. The spyware was deployed through the method of sending SMS with links to news stories to infect mobile phones, allowing the extraction of information which was then directed to specific internet domains. The analysis of the expert report uncovered that the CNI used five internet domains for this purpose, ensuring that the information extracted from the victims was securely collected.
Identification of CNI’s Five Domains
The report details the use of five internet domains by the CNI for the espionage operation, including nnews.co, statads.co, adsmetrics.co, redirstats.com, and statsupplier.com. These domains were used exclusively for targeting individuals in the Catalan independence movement and were not employed anywhere else in the world. The report also highlights the tailored nature of the spyware, with specific text messages designed to entice victims into clicking on malicious links.
Unauthorized Surveillance of Catalan Leaders
President Aragonès was found to have been spied on without legal approval, with three separate infections occurring in July 2018, April 2019, and July 2019. Despite subsequent judicial authorization, the investigation confirmed that the surveillance was conducted without proper permission during these initial instances. The espionage activity coincided with key political negotiations, raising concerns about the intrusion into sensitive political matters.
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Implications for CNI Leadership
The confirmation of the CNI’s involvement in the illegal surveillance operation is expected to have significant implications for the agency’s leadership. Calls for accountability and justice have been made by various parties affected by the espionage, including ERC, CUP, Òmnium Cultural, and the ANC. The inclusion of former intelligence service director Paz Esteban as a person under investigation in the Aragonès case marks a significant development in the pursuit of justice for those targeted by the unlawful surveillance.
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1. Espionaje masivo contra independentistas catalanes
2. Dominios de internet comunes utilizados para espiar contra independentistas catalanes.
