NSO Spyware Targets Palestinians and Israel is Lobbying the U.S. to Defend Spyware

Hacking software sold by the NSO Group has been used to spy on journalists, opposition groups, and rights activists. In response, the United States imposed sanctions on the NSO Group which is backed by the state of Israel and another company, Candiru. The Israeli Prime Minister and the Defense Ministry denied that this software has been used to hack people in the Palestinian leadership. However, the investigation shows that the software was used against Palestinian rights activists. Additionally, six Palestinian rights groups were outlawed last month under the pretext of being a banned militant group. Four of the six Palestinians who were hacked were employees of the outlawed groups. The United States imposed sanctions because the NSO had acted contrary “to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.” The Israelis are insisting that the NSO is critical for their national security and would even comply with stricter surveillance measures.