Category Archives: NSO Group

Israeli startup touting ‘the longest range’ Wi-Fi spying tool in the world

Posted on by

Israel has a reputation for being home to some of the most capable offensive hacking firms on the planet. These shadowy companies sell wares to governments all over the world, and the market grows more and more competitive every year. Case in point: The launch of a new Israeli firm called WiSpear, which is sparking a new rivalry in the lucrative business of Wi-Fi interception. This tech is used by police, intelligence and military agencies, which pay hackers to break into the networks of chosen targets. WiSpear, launched in 2016 by a former commander in the Special Operations Unit of the Intelligence Corps in the Israeli Defense Force, sells the “SpearHead Wi-Fi Man-in-the-middle platform, ” promising to intercept a targeted Wi-Fi signal — and then steal data like social media passwords and other communications — at “the longest interception ranges” and with a design that can “integrate with any infection system.” The kilometers-long range is […]

The post Israeli startup touting ‘the longest range’ Wi-Fi spying tool in the world appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Israeli startup touting ‘the longest range’ Wi-Fi spying tool in the world→

Israeli hacking firm Ability under SEC investigation, adding to its woes

Posted on by

At a glance, the private hacking and surveillance industry is rich and getting richer. Yet that industry boom doesn’t mean every company is raking in millions. Amid the high demand for surveillance tech, there is a multimillion-dollar Israeli firm whose future is very much in doubt. Ability Inc. is staring at a mountain of business and legal challenges. The 23-year-old company is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly lying about products and finances. It’s also facing an investor lawsuit for many of the same allegations, was nearly delisted from NASDAQ and has watched nearly a dozen board members resign in the last year. At the heart of the lawsuits are allegations that Ability lied for years about the company’s ability to develop, sell and deploy its flagship product. The tool, which is spyware designed to eavesdrop on any mobile phone, was not developed by Ability nor does the company […]

The post Israeli hacking firm Ability under SEC investigation, adding to its woes appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Israeli hacking firm Ability under SEC investigation, adding to its woes→

New cybersecurity partnership makes it easier for Israeli companies to sell to U.S. authorities

Posted on by

The United States and Israel unveiled a new cybersecurity partnership on Monday aimed at “stopping adversaries in networks and identifying ways to hold bad actors responsible,” according to White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert. Bossert announced the “Israeli-U.S. bilateral cyber working group” at the opening of the Cyber Week 2017 conference in Tel Aviv. The group, which will meet this week, will be led by Rob Joyce, the White House’s cybersecurity coordinator, and Eviatar Matania, the director general of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate. Members will include an unspecified number of representatives from across the U.S. and Israeli military, criminal justice and foreign relations establishments. Joyce previously ran the U.S. National Security Agency’s Tailored Access Operations (NSA TAO), the spy agency’s offensive division. Matania has helped shape Israeli cybersecurity policy for the past several years but has a private sector pedigree that includes tech and venture capital. “The meetings this week will focus on a […]

The post New cybersecurity partnership makes it easier for Israeli companies to sell to U.S. authorities appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading New cybersecurity partnership makes it easier for Israeli companies to sell to U.S. authorities→

Mexico Hacking and Spying on Its Citizens Is a ‘Human Rights Crisis’

Posted on by

The illegal use of hacking tools by the Mexican government against activists and reporters has become a systematic policy of intimidation and harassment. Continue reading Mexico Hacking and Spying on Its Citizens Is a ‘Human Rights Crisis’→

ISS World: The traveling spyware roadshow for dictatorships and democracies

Posted on by

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 […]

The post ISS World: The traveling spyware roadshow for dictatorships and democracies appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading ISS World: The traveling spyware roadshow for dictatorships and democracies→

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

Posted on by

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

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

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

Posted on by

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 […]

The post Before joining Trump’s White House, Michael Flynn advised cybersecurity firms appeared first on Cyberscoop.

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

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

Posted on by

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 […]

The post Israeli hacking company NSO Group is on sale for more than $1 billion appeared first on Cyberscoop.

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

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

Posted on by

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 […]

The post ‘Pegasus for Android’: Newly discovered spyware allows attacker to record conversations appeared first on Cyberscoop.

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

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

Posted on by

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 […]

The post ‘Pegasus for Android’: Newly discovered spyware allows attacker to record conversations appeared first on Cyberscoop.

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