NSO asked US cell networks for access in exchange for "bags of cash"

By Al Mayadeen net
Source: Agencies
2 Feb 2022 15:20

A whistleblower told the Justice Department that the Israeli surveillance company offered "bags of cash" in exchange to access to global mobile networks.

NSO asked US cell networks for access in exchange for "bags of cash"

According to a whistleblower's confidential disclosure to the Justice Department, the NSO Group offered American mobile-security firm representatives "bags of cash" in exchange for access to global cellular networks.

Gary Miller, a mobile-phone security specialist, said the NSO offer occurred during a conference call in August 2017 between NSO Group managers and representatives of his current employer, Mobileum, a California-based firm that offers security services to cellular operators worldwide. According to Miller, the NSO officials were explicitly looking for access to the SS7 network, which enables cellular firms to route calls and services as their consumers wander the world.

Surveillance firms attempt to get access to cellular communication networks in order to geolocate targets and provide various types of spying services. Cellular firms attempt to avoid such breaches by restricting access to the SS7 network and using firewalls to thwart computer requests seeking personal information on their customers.

The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into NSO over allegations that its clients illegally hacked phones and misused computer networks using the company's technology, according to four people familiar with the investigation.

In a statement, NSO said it had “never done any business with” Mobileum, “does not do business using cash as a form of payment” and is not “aware of any DOJ investigation.”

Miller stated in his disclosures to the Justice Department and in an interview with The Washington Post and other outlets that NSO officials made it clear in the call that they wanted access to SS7 so that NSO's clients could conduct cellphone surveillance to investigate crimes.

When one of Mobileum's representatives pointed out that security companies do not usually provide that as a service, NSO co-founder Omri Lavie replied, "We drop bags of cash at your office."

Mobileum Chief Executive Bobby Srinivasan denied any relationship to NSO Group.

Miller said in an interview that he spoke to the Justice Department last year and provided copies to the Federal Communications Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

NSO Group had been under fire after an investigation by The Washington Post and 16 media partners found that military-grade spyware leased by the Israeli firm NSO Group to governments was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives, and the two women closest to the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Apple sued spyware maker NSO on Tuesday for targeting the users of its devices, saying the Israeli firm, at the center of the Pegasus surveillance scandal, needs to be held to account.

The Israeli NSO and its spyware that has the ability to turn on a device's microphone and camera and collect data from it have been making headlines since 2016 after accusations of spying on a UAE activist.

FBI secretly bought Pegasus in 2019, used it domestically: NYT

In an investigation by the New York Times, the NSO Group's Pegasus, considered as the world’s most effective spyware due to its capability of cracking encrypted communications of iPhone and Android smartphones in a reliable way, was found to have been bought secretly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The investigation was published in The New York Times, under the title “The Battle for the World’s Most Powerful Cyberweapon.”

NYT found that sales of Pegasus played a major role in securing the support of Arab nations in "Israel’s" campaign against Iran and pushing the normalization deals (the so-called “Abraham Accords”) forward.

The enraged "Israel"

After media reports on Pegasus' usage in various spyware attacks on heads of states, journalists, political activists, and human rights activists, the United States decided to blacklist NSO, Pegasus' parent company in early November 2021.

The United States placed "Israel's" spyware maker NSO Group, the corporation behind the notorious Pegasus, on its list of restricted companies. NSO Group's Pegasus was exposed as having been used by oppressive regimes to spy on journalists, human rights activists, dissidents, and even heads of state.

The blacklisting has enraged Israeli officials who have doomed the move as an attack not only on NSO, but on the whole of "Israel".