Colombia prosecutors open investigation into Pegasus spy software purchase

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombia's attorney general on Thursday said in a statement that it has opened an investigation into the alleged purchase and illegal use of Pegasus spy software.

The decision comes after a televised broadcast from President Gustavo Petro, who said a unit in the country's national police bought the software off the books using $11 million in cash.

Spyware technology, including Pegasus, has been repeatedly found to have been used to hack into the phones of civil society, political opposition and journalists in the last decade.

Pegasus spyware in particular - built by Israeli firm NSO - was found on the phones of various people globally, including human rights defenders.

"The investigation seeks to establish, among other aspects, whether the negotiation between (police unit) DIPOL and NSO was finalized and, if the purchase was made, where did the money come from and what the transfer of cash Colombia to Israel involved," the statement said.

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin and Luis Jaime Acosta)