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☆ US welcomes new governments in fight against spyware as it finds more American personnel have been targeted
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A year ago, the Biden administration put the tally of US government personnel either suspected of or confirmed to have been targeted by spyware at 50. The market for commercial spyware has exploded over the last decade as companies from Israel to North Macedonia have hawked their services and many governments have been willing buyers. Poland’s prime minister has claimed the previous government used spyware on a long list of victims. The Biden administration’s review “did not identify widespread use” in the federal government of commercial spyware, the official said in a rare interview on the subject. Spyware companies often hide behind opaque corporate structures and companies to stay in business, according to US officials and researchers who track those companies.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, “ Organizations: CNN, US National Security Council, NSC, US Treasury Department, Summit for Democracy, State Department, NSO Group, FBI, Pegasus, White Locations: Israel, North Macedonia, Poland, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Seoul, ”, Africa, —

☆ Biden administration sanctions makers of commercial spyware used to surveil US
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Bad actors have used commercial spyware to target at least 50 US government officials, the Biden administration said last year as it unveiled an executive order banning federal agencies from using the technology. In 2021, the US government said NSO Group’s spyware had been used against roughly a dozen State Department employees serving in Africa. The US government has sought to build international support for curbing the use of commercial spyware, and last month, it announced visa restrictions for anyone seeking to enter the United States who has been involved in the commercial spyware industry. The use of commercial spyware “has been linked to arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings in the most egregious of cases,” the State Department said at the time. On Tuesday, the Biden administration vowed to watch closely for signs that Intellexa may seek to circumvent the sanctions.

Persons: Washington CNN —, ”, Tal Jonathan Dilian, Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou, Côte, Biden, Oregon Democratic Sen, Ron Wyden Organizations: Washington CNN, Biden, Treasury Department, Intellexa Consortium, US, Google, Pegasus, Intellexa, Amnesty International, State Department, Commerce Department, Oregon Democratic Locations: Egypt, Armenia, Greece, Madagascar, Côte d’Ivoire, Serbia, Spain, Indonesia, Africa, States

☆ Poland Starts Probe Into Allegations of Illegal Phone-Hacking
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

"Our work in the investigative commission will cause not only an earthquake, but also a tsunami." PiS say the changes are a political witchhunt and that it always acted legally. I'm sure that every surveillance conducted by secret services was accepted and ordered by court," former Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta said. However, Polish media have recently reported that the spyware may have also been used against PiS politicians, news that if proved true could strain lawmakers loyalties. "It seems to me that this may be, unfortunately, a trial by fire that (PiS) won't necessarily pass," said Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at Warsaw University.

Persons: Witold Zembaczynski, Jacek Karnowski, Sebastian Kaleta, Anna Materska, Jaroslaw, Kaczynski, Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz, Anna Wlodarczak, William Maclean Organizations: Monday, Pegasus, Civic Coalition, Associated Press, Warsaw University Locations: WARSAW, Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Monday it is rolling out a new policy that will allow it to impose visa restrictions on foreign individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware. The visa restrictions could also apply to people who facilitate or get financial benefit from the misuse of commercial spyware, officials said. “The misuse of commercial spyware threatens privacy and freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. The U.S. has already placed export limits on NSO Group, restricting the company’s access to U.S. components and technology. The hacking with spyware made by Israel’s NSO Group occurred from 2019 until last September, according to Access Now.

Persons: —, who’ve, Antony Blinken, ” Biden, Jordan’s, Jamal Khashoggi’s, Hatice Cengiz, Frank Bajak Organizations: WASHINGTON, Biden, U.S, White, Officials, Pegasus, Israel’s NSO, Group, Amnesty, Washington Post Locations: United States, U.S, Jordan, Saudi, Istanbul, ___, Boston

☆ Catalan Leader Denies Spy Agency Claim He Led Separatist Protest Group
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Joan FausBARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia's regional leader on Friday denied allegations by Spain's spy agency CNI that he had secretly led a radical separatist protest group, which he said CNI had used as a pretext to snoop on him. Pere Aragones told reporters he had received on Thursday some heavily redacted declassified CNI documents related to the alleged espionage he had been subject to, and he called for those responsible to be held accountable. Asked about the documents, Spain's Justice Minister Felix Bolanos reiterated that the government did not know about nor authorise the alleged spying. "(The documents) make this affirmation that is obviously out of touch with any minimum sense of reality," Aragones told reporters, adding that the documents provided no explanation for such suspicions. Aragones said the documents were full of falsehoods and their aim was to destroy the legitimate political project of Catalan independence from Spain.

Persons: Joan Faus BARCELONA, Spain's, CNI, snoop, Pere Aragones, Felix Bolanos, Aragones, Paz Esteban, Esteban, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Citizen, Pegasus, Spain's Locations: Canada, Spain, Barcelona

A padlock is seen in front of the word 'spyware' and binary code in this illustration taken May 4, 2022. Analysis of the journalist's phone showed an infiltration attempt on Aug. 23, OCCRP's co-founder Drew Sullivan told Reuters. Sullivan said an internal forensic investigation tied the intrusion effort against Mangnale's phone to Israeli firm NSO's Pegasus hacking tool. The spyware allows hackers sweeping access to the targets' smartphones, allowing them to record calls, intercept messages and transform the phones into portable listening devices. The Indian government has denied such allegations and last week Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government was investigating the complaints of phone hacking.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, OCCRP's, Drew Sullivan, Anand Mangnale, Sullivan, wasn't, Rocky Cole, Ashwini Vaishnaw, New Delhi didn't, Zeba Siddiqui, Raphael Satter, Munsif, Rod Nickel Organizations: REUTERS, FRANCISCO, NSO Group, Reuters, Apple, Pegasus, NSO, Technology, Indian Embassy, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, Indian, India, Delhi, Washington, New Delhi, BENGALURU

☆ Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Another source close to Thiel told Insider that while they could not confirm that Thiel was a CHS, Thiel did speak to Buma occasionally. "[They] will be either an 'FBI source' or a 'former FBI source' and, in turn, his or her conduct or misconduct will reflect upon the FBI." Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesAs a CHS, Thiel was assigned a code name and an internal serial number to track his reporting. Thiel, Johnson said, was directed by the FBI not to report on his interactions with Donald Trump or other US political figures. Johnson told Insider that he brokered an introduction between Thiel and the FBI special agent who would become his handler.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Trump, Thiel, Johnathan Buma, Charles Johnson, Johnson, MAGA, Donald Trump, Drew Angerer, Scott Horton, Buma, Sen, J.D, Vance of, Blake Masters, —, Vance, Joe Biden's, Vance of Ohio, Anna Moneymaker, Masters, Mithril's, Matt Gaetz, Gaetz's, Ginger Gaetz, Bill Barr, Rudy Giuliani, Alex Wong, Jeffrey Epstein, Enrique Tarrio, Tarrio, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: FBI, Buma, CHS, Trump, Trump Tower, Republican National Convention, Joe Biden's Department, Getty Masters, Mar, Masters, Pentagon, CIA, National Security Agency, US Army, NSO Group, Forbes, Mithril, Clearview's, Committee, Capitol, Founders Fund, Boys Locations: Los Angeles, Germany, United States, New Zealand, Malta, Silicon, Vance of Ohio, Arizona, Palantir, American, Russian, Atlantic City, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ Vietnam-aligned hackers attempted to hack US lawmakers and journalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Hackers aligned with Vietnam tried to use social media platforms X and Facebook to install spyware on the phones of dozens of high-profile targets, including US lawmakers, United Nations officials and CNN journalists, Amnesty International said Monday. Researchers with Google’s Threat Analysis Group, which tracks state-backed hackers, told CNN the Twitter account spreading the spyware appears to be based in Vietnam. For years, cybersecurity researchers and human rights activists have documented the proliferation of spyware designed to break into mobile phones and steal their contents. “Clearly these tools are being exported from the EU to states with terrible human rights records,” Ó Cearbhaill, of Amnesty International, told CNN. “Meanwhile, if European lawmakers won’t bring consequences to reckless vendors, they need to get comfortable with being targeted,” Scott-Railton told CNN.

Persons: Democratic Sens, Gary Peters, Chris Murphy, Michael McCaul, tweeting, Cearbhaill, Ó Cearbhaill, McCaul doesn’t, Leslie Shedd, Shedd, Murphy, “, Peters, Joe Biden, ” Ó, ” John Scott, ” Scott, Railton Organizations: CNN, Facebook, United Nations, Amnesty, –, Democratic, Republican, House Foreign, Amnesty International’s, Washington Post, Google’s, State Department, NSO Group, Intellexa, US Commerce Department, Amnesty International, University of Toronto’s, Commerce Locations: Vietnam, Washington ,, Washington, Africa, North Macedonia, Europe

☆ Apple informs journalists Russia is targeting them with Pegasus spyware
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia appears to be targeting journalists with spyware known as Pegasus. Pegasus is a "zero-click" software, hacking phones by sending texts that don't need to be opened. Tech and privacy experts later revealed that Timchenko, leader of independent media outlet Meduza, had been targeted by the "zero-click" spyware Pegasus, The New York Times reported. Several other journalists affiliated with independent Russian media outlets reported receiving similar warnings from Apple on Thursday, according to the Times. Later that same year, a report revealed several US State Department employees living in or focusing on Uganda had also been hacked by the software, Insider reported.

Persons: Galina Timchenko, Timchenko, — Yevegny Erlich —, Pegasus — Organizations: Service, Apple, Tech, New York Times, Pegasus, Times, Amnesty International, NSO, US State Department Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Uganda

REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - A leading Russian journalist has had her phone compromised using Israeli spyware, researchers said Wednesday, the latest sign that phone hacking tools are being used to spy on media workers and opposition figures worldwide. A joint investigation by Canadian internet watchdog Citizen Lab and digital rights group Access Now found that the phone of Galina Timchenko had been infected using spyware built by the Israeli company NSO Group. Timchenko - the co-founder and publisher of independent Russian news outlet Meduza - was in Berlin at the time of the hack, the researchers said. Media defense groups condemned the alleged surveillance, with the Committee to Protect Journalists saying "journalists and their sources are not free and safe if they are spied on." Researchers, lawmakers and journalists have repeatedly accused NSO of helping governments spy on political opponents and undermine independent reporting.

Persons: Galina Timchenko, Tatyana Makeyeva, Timchenko, Meduza, Raphael Satter, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Canadian, Lab, NSO Group, Media, Protect Journalists, U.S, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russian, Berlin, Latvia, Ukraine

☆ You should update your iPhone. Apple just fixed some iOS security vulnerabilities that had researchers worried.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Apple announced its new iOS update after researchers discovered vulnerabilities. Experts say iPhone and iPad owners should update their devices to iOS 16.6.1 as soon as possible. To install the update, open Settings on your iPhone, then select "General" followed by "Software Update." You should see the iOS 16.6.1 software update there; tap to begin the installation. Advertisement Advertisement Watch: Why Apple is having so many problems right nowIf you don't see the update, go back to the General page, then tap "About" to check your iOS version number.

Organizations: Apple, Service, University of Toronto's, Pegasus, NSO, Lab Locations: Wall, Silicon

Apple released a significant security update for iPhones and iPads Thursday to patch newly discovered security vulnerabilities in the devices’ system software. Still, Citizen Lab recommends that all users should “immediately" update their devices. To install the update, open Settings on your iPhone, then select “General” followed by “Software Update.” You should see the iOS 16.6.1 software update there; tap to begin the installation. If you don't see the update, go back to the General page, then tap “About” to check your iOS version number. If that doesn't make the update appear, double-check your internet connection and then wait a bit before trying again.

Persons: ” Organizations: Apple, University of Toronto’s, Pegasus, NSO, Lab, “

☆ U.S. Blacklists Two Spyware Firms Run by an Israeli Former General
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Mark Mazzetti | More About Mark Mazzetti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration added two Europe-based hacking firms controlled by an Israeli former general to a Commerce Department blacklist on Tuesday, its latest effort to try to rein in a spyware industry that has spiraled out of control in recent years. The two firms, Intellexa and Cytrox, are at the center of a political scandal in Greece, where government officials have been accused of using their hacking tools against journalists and political opponents. Under the terms of the blacklist, American companies are largely prohibited from doing business with the designated firms, a move designed to starve them of the U.S. technology — such as servers and cloud storage — they need to continue operations. In November 2021, the White House blacklisted the Israeli firm NSO Group, the most well-known purveyor of hacking tools. Both Intellexa and Cytrox are controlled by Tal Dilian, a former general in the Israeli military intelligence who was forced to retire from the Israeli Defense Forces in 2003 after an internal investigation raised suspicions that he had been involved in funds mismanagement, according to three former senior officers in the Israeli military.

Persons: Biden, Tal Dilian Organizations: Commerce Department, Intellexa, White House, NSO Group, Israeli Defense Forces Locations: Europe, Greece, U.S

June 16 (Reuters) - The widow of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi says in a lawsuit that surveillance software built by the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group was used to spy on her messages in the months leading up to her husband's death. The company - which markets surveillance technology to intelligence agencies and law enforcement around the world - has previously denied that its technology was used to hack Khashoggi. He was a Washington Post columnist who was murdered on the grounds of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in 2018. U.S. intelligence concluded in 2021 that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi. The Saudi government has denied any involvement by the crown prince and has maintained that Khashoggi's killing was a heinous crime by a rogue group.

Persons: Jamal Khashoggi, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Loujain, Raphael Satter, Frances Kerry Organizations: NSO Group, Northern District of Virginia, NSO, Washington Post, Saudi Crown, Saudi, Pegasus, Reuters, Apple Inc, Meta, Inc, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Northern District, Washington, Saudi Arabia's, Istanbul, U.S

A little over a decade ago, a small Israeli company created what would become the world’s most powerful and notorious hacking tool. Mark Mazzetti, who is a Washington investigative correspondent for The Times, explains the surprising story of the NSO Group and why, despite banning its technology, the United States kept trying to use it.

Britain's National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC), part of its GCHQ eavesdropping spy agency, said in a report published on Wednesday that the mercenary hacking market was offering products that were on par with government hacking groups. On Tuesday, Canadian internet watchdog group Citizen Lab published a report which said that NSO had been caught using newly-discovered hacking tools to break into iPhones belonging to Mexican human rights defenders in 2022. At least some in the spyware industry see regulation coming down the pipe and are taking steps to try to shape it. NSO has long touted its human rights policy despite repeated allegations that its software has been used abusively, including to spy on victims of human rights violations. NSO did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the Citizen Lab report or its communications with the American Bar Association.

In its report published at the same time, Microsoft said it believed with "high confidence" that the spyware was "strongly linked to QuaDream." Israeli lawyer Vibeke Dank, whose email was listed on QuaDream's corporate registration form, did not return a message seeking comment. NSO did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Neither Citizen Lab nor Microsoft identified the targets of QuaDream's software, but the allegation could still be damaging for the firm. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

☆ Polish mayor targeted by Pegasus spyware-media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Caitlin Tremblay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, March 3 (Reuters) - An opposition-linked Polish mayor had his phone hacked using Pegasus spyware, Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported on Friday, amid allegations that the country's special services have used the technology against government opponents. It said that his number appeared on a list that it had access to as part of the investigative journalism initiative the Pegasus Project. Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller told private broadcaster RMF FM that he did not know about actions taken by special services concerning specific individuals, but that no laws had been broken. A spokesman for the Polish security services could not immediately be reached for comment. NSO has said it cannot confirm or deny any existing or potential customers for Pegasus.

☆ Head of Israeli Cyber Firm NSO Group Reaffirms Company Commitment to Spyware
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Byron Tau | Dustin Volz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Embattled Israeli technology firm NSO Group acknowledged that its clients had sometimes misused the company’s high-powered hacking tools but defended the need to give law-enforcement and intelligence agencies the ability to digitally break into and monitor smartphones. In his first media interview since taking over as chief executive in 2022, Yaron Shohat said NSO Group has lost customers since the Biden administration levied stiff measures against the company in late 2021, but has stabilized itself financially and recently attracted new deals. Mr. Shohat didn’t specify how many customers NSO Group currently has but said it was around a few dozen.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Meta to pursue a lawsuit alleging that an Israeli company unlawfully accessed WhatsApp servers when installing spyware on users’ devices. The lawsuit, filed in October 2019, alleges that NSO violated various laws, including the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, when it installed the “Pegasus” spyware. Meta claims that NSO unlawfully accessed WhatsApp servers earlier in 2019, enabling it to conduct surveillance of 1,400 people, including journalists and human rights activists. “Some WhatsApp users are violent criminals and terrorists who exploit the software’s encryption to avoid detection,” the company’s lawyers wrote. In fact, she noted, no foreign government has told the State Department that NSO was acting on its behalf.

NSO had argued that it is immune from being sued because it was acting as an agent for unidentified foreign governments when it installed the "Pegasus" spyware. "NSO's spyware has enabled cyberattacks targeting human rights activists, journalists and government officials," Meta said. In one notorious case, NSO spyware was used - allegedly by the Saudi government - to target the inner circle of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi shortly before he was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. According to court papers, the accounts of 1,400 WhatsApp users were accessed using the Pegasus tracking software, secretly using their smartphones as surveillance devices. The U.S. government in November 2021 blacklisted NSO and Israel's Candiru, accusing them of providing spyware to governments that used it to "maliciously target" journalists, activists and others.

☆ Israel deports Palestinian activist to France
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Israel said it deported a Palestinian lawyer and activist to France early Sunday, claiming he has ties to a banned militant group, despite objections from the French government. Israel says Hammouri is an activist in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group that it has labeled a terrorist organization. He has worked as a lawyer for Adameer, a rights group that assists Palestinian prisoners that Israel has banned for alleged ties to the PFLP. Israel said there’s no connection between the terror designation of Adameer and five other Palestinian rights groups and any alleged use of NSO spyware. Residency rights can be stripped if a Palestinian is found to live outside the city for an extended period or in certain security cases.

☆ Apple says its new iMessage can send an alert if a state-sponsored hacker is spying on your conversation — but both parties have to turn on the feature for it to work
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple says its new iMessage feature can notify people if their conversation is being watched. Both people in the conversation must have the feature enabled to get an alert if there's a breach. Since the feature only works if both people have it enabled, it's limited to iMessage users to whom the feature is available. Despite this, iMessage users have been the targets of spyware before. In addition to iMessage Contact Key Verification, Apple released two other security features: Security Keys for Apple ID and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud.

☆ El Salvador investigative journalists sue spyware maker in U.S. federal court
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Journalists from an investigative news outlet in El Salvador sued NSO Group in United States federal court Wednesday after the Israeli firm’s powerful Pegasus spyware was detected on their iPhones. In January, the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, an internet watchdog, reported that dozens of journalists and human rights defenders in El Salvador had their cellphones repeatedly hacked with the spyware. Among them were journalists at the El Faro news site. NSO Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit. Apple and WhatsApp have pending lawsuits against NSO Group in the same U.S. court in the Northern District of California.

☆ Cyprus MPs launch inquiry into spyware development on the island
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NICOSIA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Cyprus's parliament opened an inquiry on Wednesday into the development of spyware on the island, after a draft European Parliament committee investigation report said it was an important export hub for the surveillance industry. The report cited Cypriot officials as saying 'three to four' companies produce spyware on the island. "Its been confirmed that Cyprus is a greenhouse for companies which produce spyware ... which has political backing," said MP Aristos Damianou of the opposition AKEL party, which sought the parliamentary inquiry. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades last week said any involvement of Cyprus in spyware surveillance in other countries was 'imaginary'. NSO, which sells its Pegasus spyware to government agencies, says it is a powerful tool in the fight against crime and terrorism.

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