Spyware maker NSO Group claims politicians are ‘legitimate’ spy targets
The maker of the famous Pegasus spyware has said that government and military officials are “legitimate intelligence targets” in a recent court filing, citing Republican Mitch McConnell as an example.
An Israeli cyber intelligence company known for its “zero-click” spyware has said it considers military and government officials to be legitimate surveillance targets for its software.
The NSO Group raised the claim in a court filing over an ongoing case between messaging service WhatsApp and the group over 2019 allegations of infecting 1,400 WhatsApp users with the company’s Pegasus spyware.
The NSO Group demands full access to a list of “VIPs” and “civil society leaders” compiled by Citizen Lab during investigations into the use of Pegasus spyware on non-criminal or terrorist targets. Only a limited list has been shared with NSO Group, which maintains it needs access to the full list to better defend its case.
Citizen Lab lists include current members of the government (VIPs) and members of opposition parties (civil society leaders).
The NSO Group noted that it had been able to uncover some details from the lists and said that “a quarter of ‘VIPs’ are affiliated with criminals and terrorists based solely on readily available public sources.” But even if they are not in any way connected to illegal activities, NSO Group maintains that such people are nonetheless legitimate targets.
“In addition, the VIP list is composed almost entirely of individuals who, by virtue of their positions in government or military organizations, are the subject of legitimate intelligence investigations,” the NSO Group said.
Speaking of the civil society list, NSO Group added that it believes such distinctions are “unjustified.”
“For the purposes of determining whether an individual was legitimately surveilled (for example, as part of an intelligence operation) using Pegasus, defendants maintain that this distinction is not justified and that all high-level political agents should be classified as VIP,” he said.
As an example, the NSO Group asked, “Would anyone say that Mitch McConnell is a member of ‘civil society’ because his party is a minority in the Senate?”
Mitch McConnell is currently the Republican minority leader in the Senate.
The NSO Group said in the document that at least two of the people on the civil society list are Indian journalists accused of espionage and sedition by the Chinese and Indian governments and therefore their involvement in “criminal activities.” justifies the use of Pegasus spyware. against them.
Citizen Lab’s most recent report on the NSO Group’s use of “mercenary spyware” revealed that seven Russian- and Belarusian-speaking “freelance journalists” and activists were targeted by Pegasus between August 2020 and January 2023.
“The latest investigation identifies seven other Russian- and Belarusian-speaking civil society members and journalists living outside Belarus and Russia who were targeted and/or infected with Pegasus spyware,” Citizen Lab said in a post on its website. website.
“Many of the targets publicly criticized the Russian government, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These people, most of whom are currently living in exile, have faced intense threats from Russian and/or Belarusian state security services.”
The NSO Group refers to itself as a developer of “best-in-class technology to help government agencies detect and prevent terrorism and crime” on its website and states that “NSO products are used exclusively by government agencies.” intelligence and law enforcement agencies to combat crime.” and terror.”
