That disturbing scenario, made reality through software developed by an Israeli cyber-intelligence firm, is investigated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow in the new HBO documentary Surveilled. The film directed and produced by Emmy winners Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz premieres on HBO on Monday, Nov. 20 and will be available for streaming on Max. We have your first look at the documentary in the trailer above, ahead of its world premiere this Friday at DOC NYC.

Farrow became the target of cyber surveillance himself when he was reporting the story that eventually brought down Harvey Weinstein. The journalist’s new investigation takes him from New York to Israel, home base of NSO Group, the company that created Pegasus spyware.

“Commercial spyware, capable of taking full control of cell phones without the owners’ knowledge, and long billed as a tool purchased by governments to fight terrorism, is now appearing on the phones of activists, journalists, politicians, and ordinary people,” notes a release about the documentary. “Surveilled takes us inside the secretive industry and into the offices of the Israeli spyware company NSO Group, gaining rare access to the engineers and executives behind the controversial spyware Pegasus.”

The release continues, “As Farrow exposes the complex relationship between the spyware-makers and the big tech companies dedicated to preventing security breaches of their platforms, Surveilled illuminates a clandestine business reshaping contemporary concepts of privacy and power and reveals the ethical dilemmas that citizens and governments must now navigate in the brave new world of cyberespionage. As Farrow follows a reporting trail to Barcelona, Spain, and the largest documented mass-hack using commercial spyware, the film reflects on the human consequences for communities caught in the crossfire of 21st century cyberwarfare.”

https://deadline.com/video/surveilled-trailer-ronan-farrow-hbo-documentary/