Category Archives: NSO Group

ISS World: The traveling spyware roadshow for dictatorships and democracies

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At 3:15 a.m. on Thursday, March 20, masked men rushed into Ahmed Mansoor’s family home and took him into custody. An internationally-renowned human rights activist from the United Arab Emirates, Mansoor and his family were left without explanation as to why he was being taken away. However, they are accustomed to this type of situation. Mansoor has been a constant target of government pressure for a decade, including being jailed for eight months in 2011 for “insulting officials.” The pressure often takes the form of an endless stream of cyberattacks and surveillance. The March incident was no different, as police confiscated all of his electronic devices, many of which have been the target of repeated government-sponsored hacking. Mansoor’s unparalleled history of being hacked has led observers to label him the most spied upon man in the world. “They’re really, really trying to get this guy as much as they can,” Citizen Lab researcher Bill Marczak […]

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Mexican Govt. Allegedly Used Spyware Against Journalists, Activists & A Child

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After the disclosure of sophisticated global espionage and disinformation campaign aimed to discredit enemies of the state, Citizen Lab researchers exposed the dirty game of the Mexican government and its politics.

The report — “Government Spy: Systematic monitoring of journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico” — published by Citizen Lab today revealed how the Mexican government used

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Before joining Trump’s White House, Michael Flynn advised cybersecurity firms

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Prior to his short-lived term as National Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn assisted private sector firms in building their connections with governments around the world. Flynn offered consultation services and guidance while serving on either the Advisory Council or Board of Directors for at least four private sector cybersecurity firms, including Palo Alto Networks, GreenZone Systems, which is now Saife, Halo Privacy and OSY Technologies, an organization connected to Israeli cyberarms dealer NSO Group. Flynn, according to his Public Financial Disclosure Form, held at least 11 positions among various companies in the private sector within 12 months of January 22, 2017, the eventual date of his appointment as Trump’s National Security Advisor. Flynn terminated his positions at nearly all of these companies in late 2016 when Trump nominated him as National Security Advisor, according to disclosure forms. The only two positions he stayed on […]

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Israeli hacking company NSO Group is on sale for more than $1 billion

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The Israeli hacking company NSO Group has been put up for sale for a price of more than $1 billion, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The U.S.-based private equity firm Francisco Partners Management, which owns NSO Group, is looking to bring in around 10 times the $120 million it paid for a majority stake in the company in 2014. The group grew from around 50 employees when it was acquired to nearly 10 times that size, including more than 200 engineers dedicated to the hacking products that bring in the company’s rising profits. NSO, which is known for selling cutting-edge offensive hacking technology to governments around the world, traces its roots and to the Israeli military’s world-renowned signals intelligence unit known as Unit 8200. The Israeli business publication Calcalist reported that NSO Group was being shopped around last month. CyberScoop independently spoke with numerous NSO business associates who confirmed that report. NSO Group and Francisco Partners both […]

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‘Pegasus for Android’: Newly discovered spyware allows attacker to record conversations

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Researchers at Google and mobile cybersecurity firm Lookout discovered a malicious smartphone application allowing the customers of a “cyber arms dealers” named NSO Group to remotely spy on victims. A sophisticated piece of spyware is believed to be embedded in a cohort of different espionage apps, enabling the attacker to record a target’s keystrokes, exfiltrate data and listen in on conversations through the device’s compromised microphone. The malware-laden applications were not available in the Google Play store, leading researchers to believe that targeted downloads were camouflaged and sent to specific victims through phishing emails or SMS messages. The malware was found on a few dozen Android devices. Dubbed Chrysaor, researchers believe the code is related Pegasus, another highly complex piece of malware designed to infect Apple’s iOS. Lookout researchers first discovered Pegasus, another product of NSO Group, last year on a prominent Saudi human rights activist’s phone. “Individual victim identities […]

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‘Pegasus for Android’: Newly discovered spyware allows attacker to record conversations

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Researchers at Google and mobile cybersecurity firm Lookout discovered a malicious smartphone application allowing the customers of a “cyber arms dealers” named NSO Group to remotely spy on victims. A sophisticated piece of spyware is believed to be embedded in a cohort of different espionage apps, enabling the attacker to record a target’s keystrokes, exfiltrate data and listen in on conversations through the device’s compromised microphone. The malware-laden applications were not available in the Google Play store, leading researchers to believe that targeted downloads were camouflaged and sent to specific victims through phishing emails or SMS messages. The malware was found on a few dozen Android devices. Dubbed Chrysaor, researchers believe the code is related Pegasus, another highly complex piece of malware designed to infect Apple’s iOS. Lookout researchers first discovered Pegasus, another product of NSO Group, last year on a prominent Saudi human rights activist’s phone. “Individual victim identities […]

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Apple Patches OS X Vulnerabilities After Cyberattack on Human Rights Dissident

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Apple just issued a patch for yet another vulnerability discovered as part of the cyberattack on a UAE human rights dissident. Continue reading Apple Patches OS X Vulnerabilities After Cyberattack on Human Rights Dissident→