Apple files a federal lawsuit against NSO Group and its parent company Q Cyber Technologies in the US District Court for Northern California, seeking to hold the Israeli spyware firm accountable for surveillance and targeting of Apple users. The complaint provides new technical details about NSO …
AppleNSO GroupCitizen LabUS District Court Northern Californianso-grouppegasus-spywareappleforcedentryzero-click-exploits+1 more
The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security adds Israeli spyware companies NSO Group and Candiru to the Entity List for developing surveillance software used to spy on journalists, activists, and government officials. This action restricts US companies from selling technology …
US Commerce DepartmentBureau of Industry and SecurityCandiruNSO GroupGina Raimondocandirunso-groupus-sanctionsentity-listcommerce-department+2 more
The Pegasus Project, a groundbreaking collaborative investigation by more than 80 journalists from 17 media organizations across 10 countries coordinated by Paris-based Forbidden Stories with technical support from Amnesty International, reveals that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware has been used …
Forbidden StoriesAmnesty InternationalCitizen LabThe GuardianWashington Post+2 morenso-grouppegasus-spywareforbidden-storiesamnesty-internationaljournalist-targeting+2 more
Between 2017-2020, the devices of at least 65 Catalan minority politicians and activists are targeted by a sophisticated espionage operation using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware and Candiru’s surveillance tools, in what becomes known as “CatalanGate.” The victims include current …
Citizen LabNSO GroupPere AragonèsQuim TorraArtur Mas+2 morenso-grouppegasus-spywarecataloniaspainpolitical-targeting+2 more
Meta-owned WhatsApp files a federal lawsuit against NSO Group in the US District Court for Northern California, alleging that NSO exploited a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2019-3568, CVSS score 9.8) in WhatsApp’s voice calling feature to install Pegasus spyware on approximately 1,400 devices …
WhatsAppMetaNSO GroupUS District Court Northern Californianso-grouppegasus-spywarewhatsappfacebook-metazero-day-exploits+1 more
On May 15, 2017, award-winning Mexican journalist Javier Valdez Cárdenas, co-founder of the investigative outlet Río Doce and renowned for reporting on drug trafficking and organized crime in Sinaloa, is assassinated in broad daylight in Culiacán. Just two days later, on May 17, two of his …
Javier Valdez CárdenasAndrés VillarrealIsmael BojórquezCitizen LabNSO Group+1 morenso-grouppegasus-spywaremexicojournalist-targetingpress-freedom+2 more
On April 22, 2018, UAE government authorities install NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on the phone of Hanan Elatr, wife of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, during her detention at Dubai International Airport. Forensic analysis by Citizen Lab and the University of Toronto reveals that after Elatr …
Hanan ElatrJamal KhashoggiUAE GovernmentNSO GroupCitizen Lab+1 morenso-grouppegasus-spywarejamal-khashoggiuaesaudi-arabia+1 more
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosts the first summit meeting between Israel and the Visegrad Group (V4) countries in Budapest on July 19, 2017, meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło (later Mateusz Morawiecki), and leaders from Czech Republic and …
Benjamin NetanyahuViktor OrbanBeata SzydłoMateusz MorawieckiNSO Group+2 morenso-grouppegasus-spywarehungarypolandbenjamin-netanyahu+2 more
Citizen Lab publishes “Reckless Exploit,” documenting that at least 22 members of Mexican civil society were targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware between 2015-2017, including lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders, politicians, anti-corruption advocates, and public …
Citizen LabNSO GroupMexican GovernmentCarmen AristeguiR3D+1 morenso-grouppegasus-spywaremexicojournalist-targetingcitizen-lab+1 more
On August 10-11, 2016, Ahmed Mansoor, an internationally recognized UAE-based human rights defender and recipient of the Martin Ennals Award, receives suspicious SMS messages on his iPhone promising “new secrets” about detainees tortured in UAE jails. Instead of clicking the malicious …
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San Francisco-based private equity firm Francisco Partners acquires a 70% controlling stake in NSO Group from its founders for approximately $120-130 million. The acquisition represents a major influx of Western capital into the Israeli surveillance technology sector and marks the beginning of NSO …
Francisco PartnersNSO GroupShalev HulioOmri Lavienso-groupfrancisco-partnersprivate-equitypegasus-spywaresurveillance-capitalism
Candiru, Israel’s second-largest cyber-espionage firm after NSO Group, is founded by Eran Shorer and Yaakov Weizman. The company would undergo multiple name changes from 2014-2020 before operating under Saito Tech Ltd. Isaac Zack, an early NSO Group investor, serves as Candiru’s …
Eran ShorerYaakov WeizmanIsaac ZackOmri LavieShalev Hulio+3 morecandiruspywareisraelnso-groupsurveillance-industry+1 more
NSO Group Technologies is founded in Israel by three former members of Unit 8200 (Israel’s signals intelligence unit): Niv Karmi, Omri Lavie, and Shalev Hulio. The company name “NSO” is derived from the first names of the three founders. Niv Karmi departs the company just one month …
Shalev HulioOmri LavieNiv KarmiNSO Groupnso-grouppegasus-spywareisraelsurveillance-technologyunit-8200+1 more