US blacklists company behind Pegasus spyware

An international consortium of investigative journalists revealed earlier this year that the phones of world leaders, journalists, lawyers and human rights activists around the world may have been bugged by the Pegasus spyware. They concluded this after examining a leaked list of 50,000 phone numbers that could have been targeted by the spyware.

An international consortium of investigative journalists revealed earlier this year that the phones of world leaders, journalists, lawyers and human rights activists around the world may have been bugged by the Pegasus spyware. They concluded this after examining a leaked list of 50,000 phone numbers that could have been targeted by the spyware.

Government leaders around the world reacted with indignation to these discoveries. The US Department of Commerce is now putting the company on a blacklist that restricts exports to companies. NSO will not be able to purchase parts from the United States without a special license and makes selling spyware more difficult. Another Israeli technology company, Kandero, was also placed on the list. The company, like the NSO Group, is said to have supplied and developed spyware to spy on journalists, businessmen and activists.

The United States says it is taking this action to protect the cyber security of the population. The government is concerned about human rights violations associated with the use of the software. The program, according to the United States, allowed governments to put pressure on dissidents, journalists, and activists outside their national borders. “Such practices threaten the international legal order.”

NSO Group, the Israeli company behind the program, denied that all phone numbers on the leaked list had any connection to the Pegasus system. The company claims that it only deals with countries that use the tool to fight terrorism and after permission from the Israeli government.