Finnish diplomats' phones hacked

The Foreign Ministry on Friday said some of its diplomats working at Finnish missions abroad had been the target of espionage using surveillance software. The ministry did not disclose where the hacking took place or how many diplomats were targeted.

F-Secure cyber security expert Mikko Hyppönen said this is the first time Pegasus, developed by the Israeli NSO Group, has been linked to Finland.

The surveillance software can switch on a phone's camera or microphone and harvest its data.

"The malware has infected users' Apple or Android telephones without their noticing and without any action from the user's part. Through the spyware, the perpetrators may have been able to harvest data from the device and exploit its features," the ministry said in a statement.

While Hyppönen told Finnish news agency STT that he wasn't privy to details about the case, he said the clues indicated that a state actor was behind the espionage.

"NSO only sells this programme to states, and it's not easy to copy it or use it without permission for other purposes. NSO definitely knows who uses this programme," Hyppönen explained.

Antti Pelttari, director of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo), on Friday told commercial broadcaster MTV that a state was likely behind the espionage.

Hyppönen did not want to speculate as to where the hacking of Finnish diplomats' phones took place. The ministry on Friday revealed that it had been investigating the case since last autumn.

"The espionage is no longer active," the ministry said.

The government emphasised that it is highly unlikely that any sensitive information has reached outsiders as government rules limit the transmission of classified information by phone.

Hyppönen, however, noted that whoever was behind the cyber attack may have learned the physical movements of Finnish diplomats as well as the identity of people they have been in contact with.

He added that Pegasus attacks are difficult and expensive to carry out.

"You have to be a pretty exceptional and interesting individual to become the target of such a complicated and expensive spyware attack," he said.

Pegasus has been linked to espionage cases targeting corporate CEOs, human rights activists, journalists, dissidents and politicians, including French president Emmanuel Macron.

That said, Hyppönen pointed out that Pegasus victims have mainly been Latin American or Middle Eastern, making the Finns an exception to this group.