An Israeli company’s spyware was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world, according to an investigation by 17 media organisations published on Sunday.

One of the organisations, The Washington Post, said the Pegasus spyware licensed by Israel-based NSO Group also was used to target phones belonging to two women close to Jamal Khashoggi, a Post columnist murdered at a Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018, before and after his death.

The Guardian, another of the media outlets, said the investigation suggested “widespread and continuing abuse” of NSO’s hacking software, described as malware that infects smartphones to enable the extraction of messages, photos and e-mails; record calls; and secretly activate microphones.

The investigation did not reveal who attempted the hacks or why.

NSO said its product is intended only for use by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime.

The company issued a statement on its website denying the reporting by the 17 media partners led by the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories.

‘Wrong assumptions’

“The report by Forbidden Stories is full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories that raise serious doubts about the reliability and interests of the sources. It seems like the ‘unidentified sources’ have supplied information that has no factual basis and are far from reality,” the company said in the statement. “After checking their claims, we firmly deny the false allegations made in their report.”

NSO said its technology was not associated in any way with Khashoggi’s murder. NSO representatives were not immediately available to provide additional information.

In a statement, rights group Amnesty International decried what it termed “the wholesale lack of regulation” of surveillance software. “Until this company (NSO) and the industry as a whole can show it is capable of respecting human rights, there must be an immediate moratorium on the export, sale, transfer and use of surveillance technology.”

The targeted phone numbers were on a list provided by Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International to the 17 media organisations. It was not clear how the groups obtained the list.

The numbers on the list were not attributed, but reporters identified more than a thousand people spanning more than 50 countries, the Post said. They included several Arab royal family members, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists, and more than 600 politicians and government officials — including several heads of state and prime ministers.

The Guardian said the numbers of more than 180 journalists were listed in the data, including reporters, editors and executives at the Financial Times, CNN, the New York Times, the Economist, Associated Press and Reuters.

“We are deeply troubled to learn that two AP journalists, along with journalists from many news organisations, are among those who may have been targeted by Pegasus spyware,” said director of AP media relations Lauren Easton. “We have taken steps to ensure the security of our journalists’ devices and are investigating.”

Reuters spokesman Dave Moran said: “Journalists must be allowed to report the news in the public interest without fear of harassment or harm, wherever they are. We are aware of the report and are looking into the matter.”