Saudi Arabia allegedly recruited Twitter employees to spy on users. That's just one of many ways Saudi agents use tech tools to spy on critics.
Saudi Arabia reportedly used "commercially available surveillance technologies" to install spyware on dissidents' phones.
According to a Citizen Lab study, Saudi Arabia used a spyware known as Pegasus, sold by the Israeli firm NSO group.
Source: Citizen Lab
Pegasus spyware essentially makes everything on a phone accessible.
"Once a phone is infected [with Pegasus spyware], the customer has full access to a victim's personal files, such as chats, emails, and photos. They can even surreptitiously use the phone's microphones and cameras to view and eavesdrop on their targets," according to Citizen Lab.
Multiple other Saudi dissidents say they've been targeted by Pegasus hacks .
Human rights activist Yahya Assiri and comedian Ghanim al-Masarir are among those targeted in recent years, according to Human Rights Watch.
Saudi officials also reportedly used their public Twitter accounts to harass dissidents using the hashtag "#The_Black_List."
The hashtag was started by Saud al-Qahtani, the Saudi government's former director of cybersecurity, using his official Twitter account.
The tweet was screenshotted by the news outlet Bellingcat.
Dissidents have previously speculated that the Saudi government is able to unmask anonymous accounts — a theory that's become more credible with the spying charges involving two former Twitter employees.
The alleged online spying and harassment ramped up following Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's rise to power, according to Human Rights Watch.
The Human Rights Watch report recommends that Twitter and other tech companies investigate possible spying and advocate for the release of dissidents detained for criticizing Saudi Arabia.
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