Updated FinSpy implants for iOS and Android have been used in nearly 20 countries in the last year, according to Kaspersky.

The escalating confrontation with NSO Group comes after the company’s Pegasus spyware was reportedly used to track an Amnesty researcher.

The text messages sent to the widow, who is also a journalist, were laced with exploits that would have turned her phone into a multifaceted surveillance device.

NSO Group says its spyware is for hunting terrorists, but the surveillance software has also been used to target journalists and dissidents.

The phishing methods are not new, but point to an effort to automate them at scale to target human rights activists, journalists and others.