Spain Boosts Regulation Of Intelligence Services After Spyware Scandal

 

The Spanish government announced on Thursday a new official secrets bill and reforms to the National Intelligence Centre after the recent spyware scandal.

The agency has acknowledged its use of Pegasus spyware to infiltrate mobile phones belonging to pro-Catalan independence politicians and activists. Earlier, the agency was accused of using the Pegasus program to hack the phones of over 60 Catalan separatists.

Prime minister Pedro Sánchez on spyware scandal

Prime minister Pedro Sánchez told parliament the new law would protect the privacy and rights of citizens. He further said that the new head of Spain’s secret service would report to Congress, Spain’s lower parliament, on an annual basis.

Reportedly, the move would avoid the illegal use of spyware technology. The government will also monitor the new technologies that could pose a threat in the future. Spain's government has repeatedly said that the agencies cannot tap phones without prior judicial authorisation.

Spain’s spyware scandal

The spyware scandal broke out in mid-April. More than 60 Catalan separatist figures accused Spain of spying on their phones last month. A report published by Citizen Lab confirmed that the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) had spied on the regional leader of Catalonia and over a dozen other separatist activists and politicians by infiltrating their cell phones.

Subsequently, reports surfaced on social media that mobile phones belonging to Sánchez and defence minister Margarita Robles had been illegally tapped using Pegasus software. Sánchez's phone was hacked twice in May 2021 and officials said there was at least one data leak from it. Later on, the government claimed those breaches had come from a foreign source.

The first woman to head Spain's CNI intelligence agency, Paz Esteban, has also lost her job over this scandal. Robles said that the government decided to remove the spy chief after recent reports and the spyware scandal.