After news reports that some governments are using a military-grade surveillance tool to spy on human rights activists, journalists, and politicians, some privacy and cybersecurity advocates questioned if this type of spying can be stopped.

Israeli software firm NSO Group markets the Pegasus surveillance tool for law enforcement to conduct surveillance on terrorists and criminals. Last month, a coalition of media companies identified about 1,000 people in a list of 50,000 phones tracked by Pegasus, including 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists, and more than 600 politicians and government officials.