‘Two days ago, I received a similar message on my phone.’ Has the minister also been spied on?

The Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan, announced during a briefing with journalists today that he too received a message from Apple regarding possible eavesdropping via the Pegasus spyware.

“Two days ago, I received a similar message on my phone. I believe that if you ask many of your acquaintances, you will find that they have also received it. This means that this has nothing to do with the Armenian authorities; it is a well-known international company that has caused issues not only for us but for leaders of many countries. A company like Apple, which is more attentive to its consumers, sends such warnings,” Khachaturyan stated.

The minister also mentioned that he has followed all of Apple’s instructions, including changing passwords and updating to the latest iOS version. “We have assessed it as an attack or an attempt of attack on individual citizens of Armenia, and perhaps on state institutions as well,” he commented, adding that the Armenian government currently has no information about operations conducted within its territory using Pegasus.

He assured that the Armenian government does not cooperate with the company behind Pegasus and that the ministry has not studied the program. Regarding the statement made by the leader of the ‘Honorary’ alliance and former Director of the National Security Service, Artur Vanetsyan, yesterday, he suggested referring to him, adding that the latter had made assumptions based on a similar letter he received.

It’s worth noting that Vanetsyan wrote on Facebook yesterday that he received a letter from Apple confirming his previous statements about the ongoing attempts at eavesdropping by the current authorities of Armenia. He mentioned that he has factual data indicating that attacks using the Pegasus program were carried out not only on his phone but also on the phones of his close associates and family members.