US: FBI confirms that it purchased Israel's NSO Group spyware, Pegasus

Powerful spyware, Pegasus, which is developed by Israel's NSO Group has been purchased by the FBI, as the agency announced on Wednesday. As per the reports of AP News, the FBI stated that they have obtained a limited licence from the Israeli firm for product testing and evaluation only and to stay aware with developing technologies and tradecraft. 

The FBI did not indicate how much it paid NSO Group or when it paid them. However, according to the New York Times, it paid $5 million for a one-year licence to test it in 2019. However, critics are now questioning why the nation's top law enforcement agency would have to pay for access to a notorious monitoring technology that has been extensively probed by public interest cyber sleuths if its interest was so narrow.

Counterproductive, irresponsible and ill-conceived strategy

Ron Deibert, who is a University of Toronto internet watchdog stated that spending millions of dollars to line the pockets of a company that is widely known to serially facilitate widespread human rights abuses, possible criminal acts, and operations that threaten the United States' own national security is definitely troubling. He went on to add that at the very least, this appears to be a tremendously counterproductive, irresponsible, and ill-conceived strategy, reported AP News. NSO Group was placed on a blacklist by the US Department of Commerce in November, preventing it from using American technology. Apple also sued the corporation, referring to them as "amoral twenty-first-century mercenaries."

NSO claims that Pegasus is not programmed to target phones with the United States country code, but it has targeted American residents living abroad. US diplomats in Uganda, Mexican and Saudi journalists have all been hacked with Pegasus. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said in a statement that the American people deserve more information from their government about any relationships with NSO and other cyber-mercenaries and that they should know if their government believes the use of these technologies against Americans is legal.

FBI obtained a limited licence for product testing and evaluation

On Wednesday, the FBI stated that they work hard to remain on top of evolving technologies and tradecraft, not just to investigate their potential legal applications, but also to combat crime and defend the American people and the civil rights, according to the Guardian. FBI also claimed that no operational use in support of any investigation was permitted.

(Inputs from AP News)

Image: AP