NSO

Israeli technology firm NSO Group, which grabbed global attention, including in India, amid allegations of misuse of its controversial spyware Pegasus, apparently has a large presence in the Europe Union with at least 22 contracts covering 12 of the 27 member states, a media report said on Wednesday. Pegasus spyware and competing products make it possible to infect the cell phone of the victim of the surveillance, and afterwards enable the operator to eavesdrop on conversations, read apps with encrypted messages, and…

An Austrian firm which Microsoft said created malicious software that was detected on the computer systems of some of its clients in at least three countries, has said its spying tool "Subzero" was for official use in EU states only.Microsoft said the firm, DSIRF, had deployed the spying software, or spyware, capable of accessing confidential information such as passwords or logon credentials, at an unspecified number of unidentified banks, law firms, and strategic consultancies. "Subzero is a software of the Austrian…

Adam Schiff, Chair of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Photo: Brandon Bell (Getty Images)Members of Congress—you know, the people who can’t seem to do anything—are taking their considerable talents to the fight against digital threats. On Wednesday, the House Intelligence Committee held a public hearing to address the threat of “commercial cyber surveillance,” otherwise known as the spyware industry. Experts and victims told lawmakers to blacklist abusive spyware makers from doing business in the U.S., thereby…

At least 30 political activists in Thailand have been hacked using the Israeli surveillance spyware Pegasus, according to a joint investigation by human rights and cyber monitoring groups, which suspects the attacks were launched locally. The probe by Thai human rights group iLaw, Southeast Asian internet watchdog Digital Reach, and Toronto-based Citizen Lab, followed a mass alert from Apple Inc in November informing thousands of iPhone users, including in Thailand, that they were targets of "state-sponsored attackers".…

The chief of Israeli spyware firm NSO Group said on Tuesday it had sold the country's police a variant of the Pegasus hacking tool that can access local cellphones, but which he described as being "weaker" than the export version.Unsourced media reports last month of warrantless wiretaps by Israeli police using Pegasus added a domestic dimension to long-running allegations that the tool was abused by foreign governments against reporters, rights activists and politicians.The police have denied any wrongdoing. An inquiry…

Photo: Menahem Kahana (Getty Images)The embattled Israeli surveillance for hire spyware firm NSO Group is reportedly ratcheting up its U.S. lobbying efforts in a desperate attempt to get it’s name removed from a U.S. trade blacklist. That blacklist, and the stigma surrounding it, have reportedly derailed NSO’s efforts to sell off its business to prospective American buyers. Accoridng to a Tuesday ProPublica report, NSO’s reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars this year alone on lobbying, public relations firms,…

The spyware, called Pegasus, is complex. In short, it operates by taking advantage of zero-day, zero-click exploits on iPhones and Android phones. Zero-day exploits are exploits that are not known to the phone makers yet, and which often can be installed remotely on a target’s phone via a simple text message or other sent link, no user interaction required (thus, “zero-click”). Once Pegasus is installed, virtually everything a target does on the phone can be accessed and monitored by the NSO customer targeting the…

Screenshot: Lucas Ropek/AppleApple announced a new security feature Wednesday designed to protect iPhone users from invasive spyware attacks. Dubbed “Lockdown Mode,” the feature promises to “harden” the security posture of your device, drawing a digital moat around its perimeter to protect against infiltration while also hobbling some of its features. Apple calls Lockdown the “the first major capability of its kind.” It will be available later this fall on iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura devices.When enabled, the…

The ad reads like an offer of salvation: Cancer kills many people. But there is hope in Apatone, a proprietary vitamin C–based mixture, that is “KILLING cancer.” The substance, an unproven treatment that is not approved by the FDA, is not available in the United States. If you want Apatone, the ad suggests, you need to travel to a clinic in Mexico.If you’re on Facebook or Instagram and Meta has determined you may be interested in cancer treatments, it’s possible you’ve seen this ad. It is part of a pattern on Facebook of…

Photo: Amir Levy (Getty Images)On Tuesday, news broke of a potential acquisition that would upend the surveillance industry if approved: NSO Group, one of the most well-known, notorious, and troubled spyware vendors on the market, may be bought by L3Harris Technologies, a major American defense contractor that specializes in a wide assortment of surveillance and military products. The next day, the White House fired a shot across the bow, putting both companies on notice. The acquisition, which was originally reported by…