Israeli Spyware Maker Is in Spotlight Amid Reports of Wide Abuses
Data leaked to a consortium of news organizations suggests that several countries use Pegasus, a powerful cyberespionage tool, to spy on rights activists, dissidents and journalists.
An NSO Group display at the European Police Congress in Berlin last February.Credit...Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters
July 18, 2021Updated 9:22 p.m. ET
TEL AVIV — A major Israeli cyber-surveillance company, NSO Group, came under heightened scrutiny Sunday after an international alliance of news outlets reported that governments used its software to target journalists, dissidents and opposition politicians.
The Israeli government also faced renewed international pressure for allowing the company to do business with authoritarian regimes that use the spyware for purposes that go far afield of the company’s stated aim: targeting terrorists and criminals.