Israeli police 'may have hacked phone' of key witness in Netanyahu trial

Source: The Guardian and agencies

Israeli police ‘may have hacked phone’ of key witness in Netanyahu trial

Claim emerges after officials admit finding evidence pointing to misuse of spyware by investigators


Peter Beaumont and agencies
Thu 3 Feb 2022 14.53 GMT

A key figure in the corruption trial of Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have been illegally bugged by police, according to reports, amid global controversy about Israeli-made spyware and how it has been used.

In a recording broadcast by Channel 12 news, police are heard allegedly discussing tapping a phone belonging to Shlomo Filber, a former Netanyahu ally turned state witness. “It’s as if it’s illegal … to install the application,” a police officer says.

The claim emerged days after Israeli officials admitted that – contrary to earlier denials – they may have found evidence pointing to improper use of spyware by its own investigators.

It is not known what spyware was allegedly used in the Netanyahu case.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/03/israeli-police-may-have-hacked-phone-of-key-witness-in-netanyahu-trial-spyware

______________________________________________________________________

Not yet clear which spyware they allegedly used.