Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Oct 24, 2025

US sanctions NSO Group, Israeli spyware company at centre of Pegasus Papers

US sanctions NSO Group, Israeli spyware company at centre of Pegasus Papers

NSO Group and three other businesses will have to receive special licences from the US Department of Commerce in order to acquire American technology, but the sanctions do not prohibit Americans from purchasing the company's tools.

The US is sanctioning an Israeli spyware company that it accused of supplying technology to foreign governments "to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers".

NSO Group had been accused of assisting despotic regimes in targeting journalists, political dissidents, and human rights activists in reports earlier this year.

The company responded at the time that its spyware was only used by governments to hack the mobile phones of terrorists and serious criminals.

However, the US Department of Commerce has now accused it and three other companies of "acting contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States".

Princess Haya bint Al Hussein was targeted by NSO Spyware


A series of rulings in the High Court published last month found that Dubai's ruler had used the software to spy on his ex-wife and her lawyers during a legal battle over their children.

The company has been added to the US Entity List that sanctions them with trade restrictions, requiring them to receive licences if they are going to receive any technologies from America.

While it would not prohibit Americans or American companies from hiring NSO Group or using its technologies, Vice News has reported that the sanction could mean that NSO may struggle to acquire products and services from American companies such as Amazon, Cisco, Dell, Intel and Microsoft whom documents suggest it uses to deploy its spyware.

Alongside NSO Group on the Entity List is Candiru, another Israeli spyware firm, as well as the Russian company Positive Technologies and the Computer Security Initiative Consultancy from Singapore.

The US secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo said: "The United States is committed to aggressively using export controls to hold companies accountable that develop, traffic, or use technologies to conduct malicious activities that threaten the cybersecurity of members of civil society, dissidents, government officials, and organisations here and abroad."

The Commerce Department added: "Today's action is a part of the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to put human rights at the centre of US foreign policy, including by working to stem the proliferation of digital tools used for repression."

A spokesperson for the spyware company told Sky News: "NSO Group is dismayed by the decision given that our technologies support US national security interests and policies by preventing terrorism and crime, and thus we will advocate for this decision to be reversed.

"We look forward to presenting the full information regarding how we have the world's most rigorous compliance and human rights programs that are based the American values we deeply share, which already resulted in multiple terminations of contacts with government agencies that misused our products."

Lindy Cameron has warned about the perils of private hacking companies


Referencing NSO Group recently, the head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, Lindy Cameron, said the Pegasus Papers stories "demonstrated something we have raised a red flag about before - the commercial market for sophisticated cyber exploitation products".

"Those with lower capabilities are able to simply purchase techniques and tradecraft - and obviously these unregulated products can easily be put to use by those who don't have a history of responsible use of these techniques.

"We need to avoid a marketplace for vulnerabilities and exploits developing that makes us all less safe," she warned.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
×