Police and Israeli minister deny use of NSO Group spyware

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The Israeli minister of public security has joined police in denying claims in an article in Calcalist that the country's police force have used NSO Group's Pegasus software to spy on the phones of people who led protests against former premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Calcalist reported that the surveillance was carried out without court supervision or oversight of how the data was used. The daily Haaretz newspaper also reported that it had seen a 2013 invoice in which NSO billed police @@2.7 million (£635,000), apparently for a basic version of Pegasus. A further report from Ynet news claimed that Pegasus was used to investigate the corruption case of Likud party Knesset member David Bitan. The justice minister and State Comptroller's office have both promised investigations.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/19/israeli-minister-defends-police-over-alleged-pegasus-spying

Writer: Bethan McKernan and Quique Kierszenbaum
Publication: Guardian
Publication date: 2022-01-19

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A growing number of governments around the world are embracing hacking to facilitate their surveillance activities. But many deploy this capability in secret and without a clear basis in law.