Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity and human rights abuse research group at the University of Toronto, said the zero-day was part of an exploit chain named Kismet that was created and sold by NSO Group, a well-known vendor of spyware and surveillance products.
Researchers claim NSO sold the Kismet hacking tool to at least four entities, who used it in July and August 2020 to hack the personal iPhones of 36 Al Jazeera reports from all over the globe.
The Citizen Lab team believes it identified two of the four of the buyers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, linking the activity to two groups the organization has been tracking as Monarchy and Sneaky Kestrel.
Tech giants join legal battle against hacking company NSO freemalaysiatoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from freemalaysiatoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Dell Join Facebook’s Legal Battle Against Israeli Hacking Company NSO After WhatsApp Hack
Facebook has said that NSO exploited a bug in WhatsApp to help surveil more than 1,400 people worldwide. By Reuters | Updated: 22 December 2020 10:33 IST
Microsoft, Google, Cisco, VMWare, and the Internet Association joined forces with Facebook
Highlights
NSO s spyware was also been linked to the slaying of journalist Khashoggi
NSO has denied hacking Khashoggi
Tech giants including Microsoft and Google on Monday joined Facebook s legal battle against hacking company NSO, filing an amicus brief in federal court that warned that the Israeli firm s tools were powerful, and dangerous.
December 22, 2020
published at 5:13 AMReuters FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California US on November 7, 2017.
Reuters
Tech giants including Microsoft and Google on Monday joined Facebook’s legal battle against hacking company NSO, filing an amicus brief in federal court that warned that the Israeli firm’s tools were “powerful, and dangerous.”
The brief, filed before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, opens up a new front in Facebook’s lawsuit against NSO, which it filed last year after it was revealed that the cyber surveillance firm had exploited a bug in Facebook-owned instant messaging program WhatsApp to help surveil more than 1,400 people worldwide.
Top tech firms join hands to help WhatsApp in NSO Group hacking daijiworld.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from daijiworld.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.