Embarrassed: The spying software was sold to some authoritarian governments to spy on journalists and activists

All these people were on the list of 50,000 phone numbers of people believed to be on the company's list of clients, The NSO, which originated earlier on several major world media outlets.

There is no known where the list came from or if the phones are really hacked, reports the BBC, translates Periscope.

The NSO has denied any wrongdoing.

It says that the software in question was meant to be used against criminals and terrorists and that it had access only to the military, order forces and intelligence agencies from states with poor human record.

In a statement, it says that the initial investigation leading to the report, “was full of false assumptions”.

The claims on the use of this software known as Pegasus were published Sunday in the Washington Post, The Guardian, Le Monde and 14 other media organisations worldwide.

Pegasus infected iPhones and Androids to allow operators to extract messages, photos and emails, phone calls and activate secret microphones.  

An estimated 180 journalists are believed to be on the list, from organisations such as Agence France-Presse, CNN, the New York Times, Al Jazeera and others.

These include two women close to Saudi journalist Jamal Khasshogi and a Mexican journalist named Cecilio Pineda Birto who had been killed in a car. /Periscope