NSO hacking code acquisition poses serious security risk: US Senator
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Ron Wyden believes the White House is correct to express concerns about a proposed arrangement for contractor L3Harris to take over Israeli surveillance technologies.
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Democratic Senator Ron Wyden
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon believes the White House is correct to express concerns about a proposed arrangement for contractor L3Harris to take over NSO surveillance technologies.
The Democratic lawmaker warned that any deal by a US company to acquire NSO Group’s surveillance technology would pose a serious national security risk, suggesting that any intercepts obtained with the software by US intelligence agencies would end up in Israeli hands.
This comes as current and former US intelligence officials have warned that "Israel" may have some access – via a “backdoor” – to intelligence unearthed via such surveillance tools.
According to The Washington Post, US defense business L3Harris Technologies is in talks to potentially purchase Israeli cyber outfit NSO Group's notorious Pegasus spyware.
L3Harris has denied acknowledging that a contract to buy the Pegasus malware is in the works.
Read more: NSO Group selling spyware to 'elevated-risk' clients
A White House official told The Washington Post, which reported jointly on the story with The Guardian and Haaretz, that Biden's administration is worried about the possible purchase due to security risks for the government.
While speaking to The Guardian, Wyden stated that “if the US plans on using foreign-made surveillance technology, it might as well bcc the country that produces it on every intercept. It’s a serious national security risk, similar to the concerns associated with using foreign communications technology. The White House is right to raise concerns about this deal.”
According to those acquainted with the discussions, there are still a number of specifics to be worked out in the arrangement, including the price and location of the malware. The informed sources also said that any acquisition of NSO’s controversial hacking tools would mean that the spying tools would only be permitted to be used by US agencies and close American allies: the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and possibly some Nato countries.
A spokesperson for L3 noted that “we are aware of the capability and we are constantly evaluating our customers’ national security needs. At this point, anything beyond that is speculation.”
NSO Group has been embroiled in a seemingly never-ending spate of extremely prominent controversies. Revelations that it sells its powerful Pegasus spyware to authoritarian regimes and that its products have been used to spy on journalists, activists, politicians, and even potentially world leaders, as well as the accusations that it played a role in Jamal Khashoggi's death have put it at the center of international criticism.
Read more: NSO asked US cell networks for access in exchange for "bags of cash"
However, it is not simply litigation and controversy that are generating problems for NSO. Since the malware provider was essentially blacklisted by the US government last autumn, it has encountered growing financial difficulties.
NSO is also being sued by WhatsApp, Facebook's famous messaging program, and Apple. Any decision to sell the firm's technology – or code – to a US corporation would not immediately result in the lawsuits being resolved or the company being taken from the blacklist.
