Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram -- reputed to be an unhackable messaging app and having over half a billion users -- was targeted for potential surveillance in the Pegasus spyware case, reports The Guardian.  

The Russian-born tech billionaire, who in recent years publicly binned the security standards of Telegram's competitors including WhatsApp, now ironically finds his own number on the list of individuals selected by NSO Group's client governments. 

Governments around the world are facing bombshell allegations that they used the Israeli-made malware to spy on the phones of activists, journalists, corporate executives and politicians, once again bringing mobile spying fears to the fore.

However, it is not possible to confirm whether there was any attempt to install malware on Durov's phone without performing a forensic examination on the device.

Other names reportedly in the list of people targeted for potential surveillance by clients of the notorious Israeli spyware firm NSO Group include French President Emmanuel Macron, and 14 current or former heads of states, AP reports. 

Πηγή: thedailystar.net