Mexico Has Its Spyware. A Reporter Has a Few Phones to Juggle.
I’m pretty sure I was sent Pegasus, the spyware purchased by the Mexican government, and though I’ve wiped that phone and replaced it, I’m cautious.
When I was previously in Kabul, Afghanistan, a few of the other reporters teased me for using it,
but I’ve found it reassuring to always have my whereabouts available when I’m in remote areas without any service — especially if it’s a violent area or one where kidnapping is a possibility.
Twice in the last two years I’ve been sent on breaking stories from vacation, without any of my tech tools.
There’s no doubt it is using technology for surveillance, nor is there any doubt
that it is paying exorbitant sums for it, as seen by various contracts made public and emails related to the government’s purchases of Hacking Team software that leaked a few years back.
Lots has been written about the booming tech scene in Mexico, in particular in the city of
Guadalajara, which is the latest place to be given some kind of Silicon Valley moniker.