Washington blacklists the Israeli company, the developer of Pegasus

After the company's name emerged in a series of spying scandals against activists, journalists, politicians and businessmen, the US authorities included the Israeli NSO Group, which developed the "Pegasus" spyware program, to the list of banned companies in the country.

US authorities on Wednesday added the Israeli "NSO Group" that developed the "Pegasus" spyware program to the list of banned companies, after the company was the focus of a spying scandal targeting officials and journalists this summer.

The name "NSO" came to prominence after reports that tens of thousands of human rights activists, journalists, politicians and businessmen around the world were listed as potential targets of the "Pegasus" program it developed.

"These tools have enabled foreign governments to engage in transnational repression, the practice of authoritarian governments that target dissidents, journalists, and activists outside their sovereign borders to silence them," the US Commerce Department said in a statement.

Once downloaded to a mobile phone, Pegasus allows spying on the phone user by viewing messages, data, photos, contacts, and activating the microphone and camera remotely.

After the scandal was revealed, reactions varied, and lawsuits were filed from people who considered themselves to be victims of espionage operations, or from countries that believed that they had been wrongly accused.

Washington also targeted the Israeli company "Kandero", a computer security consulting company based in Singapore, and the Russian company "Positive Technologies".

The addition of companies to the so-called "entity list" means that US institutions are prohibited from doing business with them. For example, it is now difficult for US researchers to sell her information or technology.

A spokesperson for the group, based in Tel Aviv, said that the Israeli group "felt dissatisfied" with the decision and intends to veto it, stressing that the "NSO" has a "strict moral charter based on American values."

Means of suppression

For her part, Dana Ingleton, Acting Associate Director of the Technology Program at Amnesty International, considered the hacking software developed by the NSO Group "a means of repression that has been used around the world to violate human rights."

"This dangerous sector is out of control, and this matter must lead to an end to the impunity of companies developing piracy programs," she added.

For his part, the chief technology officer at Vectra, a cybersecurity company, said, "It is very clear that the majority of governments are ignoring controls and doing what they think is in their best interest."

This summer, the Israeli company found itself at the center of a global espionage scandal after an investigation published by 17 international media outlets as of July 18 showed that the company's "Pegasus" program allowed spying on at least 180 journalists, 600 political figures, 85 human rights activists and 65 Owner of a company in several countries.

"Today's move is part of the Biden-Harris administration's efforts to put human rights at the center of US foreign policy, including working to stop the spread of digital tools used for repression," the US Department of Commerce said in the statement.

In September, Apple was forced to fix an information flaw that was exploited by the "Pegasus" program to hack iPhones, despite all the precautions taken, in new evidence that no company, no matter how technologically advanced, is immune from espionage practices.

And the "NSO" software was able to hack Apple devices without resorting to detonated links or clicks, which is the method usually adopted to carry out activities of this kind.

The flaw was detected thanks to researchers from the Citizen Lab group who discovered that the iPhone of a Saudi activist had been hacked by Apple's iMessage chat service.

The University of Toronto Cyber ​​Security Group reported that Pegasus has been exploiting this flaw "since at least February 2021."

The Israeli company insists that its software is for use only "to combat terrorism" and other crimes. It says it exports it to 45 countries around the world.