NSO blocks government clients amid snooping claims

Washington, July 31

Israeli cybersecurity company NSO Group, which is at the centre of the Pegasus snooping scandal, has temporarily blocked several government clients around the world from using its spyware technology as the firm probes its alleged abuses, according to a US media report.

The alleged use of the Pegasus software to spy on journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and others in a number of countries, including India, has triggered concerns over issues relating to privacy.

The suspensions are in response to an investigation by Pegasus Project, a consortium of media outlets that reported the company’s Pegasus spyware was linked to hacks and potential surveillance.

“There is an investigation into some clients. Some of them have been temporarily suspended,” National Public Radio (NPR) said quoting a source in the Israeli company.

The source, a company employee, did not name or quantify the government agencies — or their countries — that NSO has recently suspended from using its spyware, asserting that Israeli defence regulations prohibit the company from identifying its clients, the report by NPR, an independent, nonprofit media organisation, sai. — PTI

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