NSO Group

NSO Group Technologies Ltd.
Company typePrivate
IndustryTechnology
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)
Founders
  • Omri Lavie
  • Shalev Hulio
  • Niv Karmi
    (left the company one month after its inception)
Headquarters
Herzliya
,
Israel
Key people
Yaron Shohat (Acting CEO)[1][2]
ProductsPegasus
RevenueUS$ 243 million (2020)
US$ 99 million (2020)
Owner
  • Novalpina Capital
  • Omri Lavie
  • Shalev Hulio
Number of employees
750 (2021) Edit this on Wikidata
Websitensogroup.com

NSO Group Technologies (NSO standing for Niv, Shalev and Omri, the names of the company's founders) is an Israeli cyber-intelligence firm primarily known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus, which is capable of remote zero-click surveillance of smartphones.[3] It employed almost 500 people as of 2017.[2][4][5]

NSO claims that it provides authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime.[6][7] The company says that it deals with government clients only.[8] Pegasus spyware is classified as a weapon by Israel and any export of the technology must be approved by the government.[9]

According to several reports, NSO Group spyware has been used to target human rights activists and journalists in various countries,[10][11][12] was used for state espionage against Pakistan,[13] for warrantless domestic surveillance of Israeli citizens by Israeli police,[14] and played a role in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi by agents of the Saudi government.[15]

In 2019, instant messaging company WhatsApp and its parent company Meta Platforms (then known as Facebook) sued NSO under the United States Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.[6][7] In 2021, Apple filed a lawsuit against NSO in the U.S.,[16] and the US included NSO Group in its Entity List for acting against U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, effectively banning U.S. companies from supplying NSO.[17]

  1. ^ "Israeli spyware company NSO Group CEO steps down". Reuters. August 21, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo; Cox, Joseph (August 25, 2016). "Meet NSO Group, The New Big Player In The Government Spyware Business". VICE Magazine. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  3. ^ Timberg, Craig; Albergotti, Reed; Guéguen, Elodie (July 19, 2021). "Despite the hype, Apple security no match for NSO spyware – International investigation finds 23 Apple devices that were successfully hacked". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Oneill, Patrick Howard (June 12, 2017). "Israeli hacking company NSO Group is on sale for more than $1 billion". Cyberscoop. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  5. ^ Lee, Dave (August 26, 2016). "Who are the hackers who cracked the iPhone?". BBC News. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Fox-Brewster, Thomas (August 25, 2016). "Everything We Know About NSO Group: The Professional Spies Who Hacked iPhones With A Single Text". Forbes. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Schaffer, Aaron (January 10, 2020). "Israeli spyware company accused of hacking activists hires lobby firm". Al-Monitor. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Priest, Dana (June 6, 2021). "Spyware technology found on phone of Moroccan journalist, report says". Washington Post. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  10. ^ "Activists and journalists in Mexico complain of government spying". Reuters. June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  11. ^ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (August 25, 2016). "Government Hackers Caught Using Unprecedented iPhone Spy Tool". VICE Magazine. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  12. ^ "Who is spying on Indians? WhatsApp, Pegasus spyware maker, the government are caught in a blame game". Reuters. December 13, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  13. ^ "Israeli spyware allegedly used to target Pakistani officials' phones". Reuters. December 19, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  14. ^ Ganon, Tomer (January 18, 2022). "Israel police uses NSO's Pegasus to spy on citizens". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Falconer, Rebecca (March 24, 2019). "Israeli firm won't say if it sold Saudis spyware linked to Khashoggi killing". Axios. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kirchgaessner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference :20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).