Pegasus spyware seller: Blame our customers not us for hacking
The maker of powerful spy software allegedly used to hack the phones of innocent people says blaming the company is like “criticising a car manufacturer when a drunk driver crashes”.
NSO Group is facing international criticism, after reporters obtained a list of alleged potential targets for spyware, including activists, politicians and journalists.
Investigations have begun as the list, of 50,000 phone numbers, contained a small number of hacked phones.
Pegasus infects iPhones and Android devices, allowing operators to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones and cameras.
NSO Group has said the software is intended for use against criminals and terrorists and made available to only military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies from countries with good human-rights records.
But a consortium of news organisations, led by French media outlet Forbidden Stories, has published dozens of stories based around the list, including allegations French President Emmanuel Macron’s number was on it and may have been targeted.