Israel’s foreign minister says, “I don’t think there is any other country in the world that has such strict rules regarding cyber warfare and is enforcing those rules more than Israel and we will continue to do so.”
Israel has distanced itself from the controversy sparked by the NSO group after the US blacklisted the technology firm that allegedly used Pegasus spyware to target government officials, activists and journalists globally. , saying it is a private company and has nothing to do with the policies of the Israeli government.
“NSO is a private company, it is not a government project and therefore if it is designated, it has nothing to do with the policies of the Israeli government,” Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, said in a conversation with the prime minister. said in a joint press conference. Minister Naftali Bennett and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman in the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday evening.
“I don’t think there is any other country in the world that has such strict rules regarding cyber warfare and is enforcing those rules more than Israel and we will continue to do so,” Mr Lapid stressed.
Israel’s foreign minister’s remarks come after the US on Wednesday sanctioned the Herzliya-based company over alleged misuse of its phone-hacking spyware in countries around the world, including India.
The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added NSO Group and Candiru to its entity list on Wednesday for engaging in activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.
It said in a statement that they were added to the entity list on the basis of evidence that it developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to target government officials, journalists, businessmen, activists, academics and embassy staff. Used to target maliciously.
These tools have also enabled foreign governments to conduct international repression, the practice of authoritarian governments targeting dissidents, journalists and activists to quell dissent outside their sovereign borders. The US Commerce Department said such practices threaten the rules-based international order.
Mr Lapid’s remarks are the first public remarks by a senior Israeli minister since the US blacklisted announcement on Wednesday.
The Israeli government’s top three ministers were addressing the press after the budget was passed, which many saw as the first major hurdle facing the fragile coalition, something that would determine the longevity of the formation.
Amid the ongoing controversy around the world, Israel in July set up a committee to review allegations of misuse of NSO Group’s surveillance software and indicated a potential “review of the entire licensing issue”.
NSO’s chief executive officer, Shailev Hulio, then welcomed the move, saying “it would be very happy if there is an investigation so that we can clear our name”.
Mr Hulio then claimed there was an attempt to “smear the entire Israeli cyber industry”.
The NSO chief had also emphasized that his company cannot disclose the details of its contracts due to “privacy issues”, but, “it will provide full transparency to any government seeking more information”.
“Let any state unit, any official of any state, come along, and I will be ready to open everything up to them, so that they can enter, dig from top to bottom,” said Mr. Hulio. said.
Israel’s Defense Ministry threatened in a statement that it would “take appropriate action” if it learned that the NSO Group had violated the terms of its export license.
The ministry said in July that Israel only allows companies to export government data to cyber security products “only for legal purposes and to prevent and investigate crimes and combat terrorism”. and is subject to commitments with respect to the end use/user from the country of purchase, which must comply with these Terms”.
Later, reports of “raid” raids on NSO facilities by committee members surfaced widely in the media.
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