A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli NSO Group company, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. Nine activists from Bahrain had their iPhones hacked by advanced spyware made by NSO Group, the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire firm, Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, a cybersecurity watchdog reported on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. The watchdog said NSO Group’s Pegasus malware successfully hacked the phones between June 2020 and February 2021. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
An Israeli source claimed on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron that the alleged misuse of spyware manufactured by an Israeli company, including against Macron, would be handled “discreetly.”
Israel has been looking into whether the Pegasus software developed by cyber firm NSO Group, which can hack phones and is intended for certified law enforcement and intelligence organizations, has been abused on a global scale. Exports of offensive cyber tools like Pegasus are supervised by Israel’s Defense Ministry.
In July, several international media organizations reported that Pegasus was used in hacking smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists and government officials in several countries.
NSO has rejected the reports, saying they were “full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories”. Pegasus was intended for use only by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime, NSO said.
In July, several international media organizations reported that Pegasus was used in hacking smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists and government officials in several countries.
NSO has rejected the reports, saying they were “full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories”. Pegasus was intended for use only by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime, NSO said.
