JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Saturday distanced the government from the NSO Group, a firm blacklisted this week by the United States over its alleged misuse of phone hacking spyware.
An investigation by 17 media organizations published in July said NSO’s Pegasus software targeted the smartphones of journalists, rights activists and government officials in several countries.
The company ships its products overseas under license from Israel’s Ministry of Defense, which has launched its own investigation into the company’s practices after alleged software abuse came to light.
No results have been announced and Israel has so far given no indication that it was considering limiting the scope of NSO’s exports.
“NSO is a private company, it is not a government project and therefore even if it is designated, it has nothing to do with the policies of the Israeli government,” Lapid told a news conference in Jerusalem. There is another country in the world that has such strict rules regarding cyber warfare and is imposing those rules more than Israel and we will continue to do so.
His remarks are the first publicly made remarks by a senior Israeli minister since the US Commerce Department announced the blacklist on Wednesday.
In the past, the NSO Group has been accused of selling hacking equipment to authoritarian regimes. NSO says it only sells its products to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and takes steps to prevent abuse.
Its inclusion in the US list for engaging in activities contrary to the interests of US national security or foreign policy means exports to them from US counterparts are restricted.
NSO has said it is “disappointed” by the US decision and has terminated contracts with government agencies that abuse products that serve as legitimate tools to help crime-fighting officials fight terrorism. Promoted as
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