Forensic evidence recovered from both phones shows the links between the different stages of the attacks. [62] [63]. This unlawful spying, and the wider pattern of harassment of activists and journalists must stop,” said Danna Ingleton. The eight NGOs filed their amicus brief today with the Californian court where WhatsApp has brought a suit against NSO Group. The phone’s web browser is then redirected to a malicious website, without requiring any action by the target. Permissions
The world’s most dangerous offenders … The smear campaigns against Radi were leveled just weeks after the publication of Amnesty’s damning report, which showed how the Moroccan government allegedly used NSO Group spyware against the journalist. This appears to have given the authorities continued access to the company’s spyware. Amnesty had previously reported a number of similar attacks against historian Maati Monjib and human rights defender Adbessadak El Bouchattaoui … "[31] NSO denied involvement in selecting or targeting victims, but did not explicitly deny creating the exploit. [46] A patch for macOS was released six days later. The Emirates were Hacking Team’s second-biggest clients, behind only Morocco, reportedly paying the company more than $634,500 to target 1,100 devices with spyware in 2015. The group invested a total of $1.8 million for a 30% stake. The amicus brief aims to provide the court with information to help it reach a decision and, in particular, to convince it to rule against NSO Group’s request for WhatsApp’s suit to be declared inadmissible. Circles is capable of identifying the location of a phone in seconds, anywhere in the world. Technology developed by Israeli cyber security company NSO Group was used by the Moroccan government to spy on journalist Omar Radi, a critic of Morocco's human rights record, Amnesty International said on Monday. We believe companies like NSO Group … 22 Jun 2020, 10:00 PM IST in news Several messages left with Moroccan government spokesperson Said Amzazi and human rights minister Mustapha Ramid were not immediately returned. The brief spotlights those who survived Pegasus’ attack from India, Morocco, Rwanda, and Togo, and argues that the court should not allow NSO to escape accountability in U.S. courts under the sovereign immunity doctrine. [2][14] In June 2017, the company was put up for sale for $1 billion by Francisco Partners. [20], Citizen Lab researchers reported in October 2018 that they were being targeted by undercover operatives connected to NSO. Reporting also shows foreign governments are using those surveillance tools, bought from PSOAs, to spy on human rights defenders, journalists and others, including U.S. citizens. NSO Group, the Israeli company marketing its technology in the fight against COVID-19, contributed to a sustained campaign by the government of Morocco to spy on Moroccan journalist Omar Radi, a new investigation by Amnesty International reveals. NSO presence in Morocco. Read more about Israeli court backs notorious spy firm NSO Group . NSO Group publicly committed to abide by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights on 10 September 2019. [28][29] Victims were exposed to the spyware payload even if they did not answer the call. Facebook is also suing NSO Group in courts in California after the spyware firm exploited a vulnerability in WhatsApp to target at least 100 human rights defenders. Morocco used NSO's spyware to snoop on journalist: Amnesty Moroccan government used NSO's Pegasus software to spy on journalist Omar Radi. You can use this tool to change your cookie settings. The platform has since sued NSO Group in U.S. court, claiming NSO illegally used WhatsApp’s servers to hack into the phones of 1,400 of its users. [19] In 2015 Francisco was seeking to sell the company for up to $1 billion. For network injections, the attacker requires either physical proximity to the targets or access over mobile networks in the country which only a government could authorize, a further indication that the Moroccan authorities were responsible for the attack against Omar Radi. WhatsApp and Facebook closed the vulnerability, contacted law enforcement, and advised users to update the WhatsApp app. [26], In April 2019, NSO froze its deals with Saudi Arabia over a scandal alleging NSO software's role in tracking murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the months before his death. “Even after being presented with chilling evidence of its spyware being used to track activists in Morocco, it appears that NSO chose to keep the Moroccan government on as a customer. At least in one case, the surveillance was authorized by a judge. Frédéric Soltan/Getty. [50], In July 2017, the international team assembled to investigate the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping publicly complained they thought they were being surveilled by the Mexican government. The organization found that Radi's phone was subjected to several attacks using a "sophisticated new technique" that silently installed NSO's Pegasus spyware. "Meet NSO Group, The New Big Player In The Government Spyware Business", "U.S. Fund to Buy NSO and Its Smartphone-snooping Software", "Israeli Entrepreneurs Play Both Sides of the Cyber Wars", "Spyware's Odd Targets: Backers of Mexico's Soda Tax", "Israeli hacking company NSO Group is on sale for more than $1 billion", "Who are the hackers who cracked the iPhone? |
Share. One of them is Maati Monjib, co-founder of the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism, and a prominent … [30] WhatsApp told the Financial Times that "the attack has all the hallmarks of a private company known to work with governments to deliver spyware that reportedly takes over the functions of mobile phone operating systems. The software can also collect Wi-Fi passwords. Most notably, its spyware was implicated in the gruesome 2018 killing of Khashoggi. NSO Group says it undertakes a rigorous review to identify human rights before sales of its products, but these claims lack detail and, considering the number of attacks on civil society, appear to have been ineffective in numerous cases. Moreover, leaked contracts suggested a total licensing fee of at least $18 million for NSO Group’s surveillance software. While the Moroccan authorities are ultimately responsible for the unlawful targeting of activists and journalists like Omar Radi, NSO Group contributed to these abuses by keeping the government on as an active customer until at least January 2020. The Kingdom of Morocco did not immediately respond to a request for comment. [21][22], In early February 2019, one of the operatives targeting Citizen Lab researchers was identified as Aharon Almog-Assouline, a "former Israeli security official living in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Hasharon. The company can't disclose its customers due to "state confidentiality concerns," NSO Group added. A new report by Amnesty International claims that the NSO group, an Israeli surveillance firm, helped the government of Morocco spy on Moroccan journalist Omar … Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, NSO Group and their primary investor, the UK-based private equity firm Novalpina Capital, have a clear obligation to take urgent steps to ensure that they are not causing or contributing to human rights abuses worldwide. This month, Amnesty International identified two Moroccan activists targeted by attempts to install Pegasus since at least October 2017. A forensic analysis of Radi’s phone by Amnesty allegedly revealed it […] NSO Group was reportedly facing an FBI investigation in early 2020. Forensic data extracted from Omar Radi’s phone indicates network injection attacks occurred on 27 January, 11 February, and 13 September 2019. NSO software 'used in Morocco' Earlier this month, Amnesty revealed that NSO's software was used to spy on a prominent Moroccan journalist and human rights defender Omar Radi. NSO Group, the Israeli company marketing its technology in the fight against COVID-19, contributed to a sustained campaign by the government of Morocco to spy on Moroccan journalist Omar Radi, a new investigation by Amnesty International reveals. The new evidence is the latest red flag as to why NSO should be blocked from selling its surveillance technology, including to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Danna Ingleton. Defendants subsequently complained that WhatsApp had closed the vulnerability. With NSO Group claiming it only sells its spyware to government intelligence and law enforcement agencies, the evidence revealed by Amnesty International indicates that the Moroccan government remained an active customer of NSO Group, and was able to continue to use the company’s technology to track, intimidate and silence activists, journalists and critics. With network injections, attackers are able to monitor, intercept and manipulate the internet traffic of the target. [61] The firm has two systems. [40][41], The Israeli Ministry of Defense licenses the export of Pegasus to foreign governments, but not to private entities. Between August 2016 and August 2018, we scanned the Internet for servers associated with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. [37], In April 2020, NSO group blamed hacking of 1400 WhatsApp users including journalists and human rights activists on its government clients. However, new evidence shows similar network injection … ", "Running in Circles: Uncovering the Clients of Cyberespionage Firm Circles", "Hacking a Prince, an Emir and a Journalist to Impress a Client", Office of Personnel Management data breach, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center ransomware incident, Democratic National Committee cyber attacks, Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NSO_Group&oldid=1012268879, Mergers and acquisitions of Israeli companies, Short description is different from Wikidata, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 March 2021, at 14:13. The company's start-up funding came from a group of investors headed by Eddy Shalev, a partner in venture capital fund Genesis Partners. Documents also revealed that Circles sent targets’ locations and phone records to the UAE SCNS. According to WhatsApp, the NSO Group used Pegasus to access more than 1,400 mobile devices, including those belonging to journalists and human rights defenders. Tamara Nassar Power Suits 23 June 2020. These … Forensics evidence recovered from both phones shows the links between the different stages of the attacks. However, the firm did not disclose the names of its clients which, as Citizen Lab stated, include authorities in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Morocco, and Mexico. Elle a été rachetée en 2014 par la société Francisco Partners pour 145 millions de dollars . Hackers potentially working on behalf of a foreign government have targeted Moroccan human rights advocates with malicious software built by NSO Group, a controversial spyware vendor, according to Amnesty International. [16][2], In 2012, the government of Mexico announced the signing of a $20 million contract with NSO. Read more about Morocco used Israeli malware to spy on journalists . WhatsApp is suing NSO Group for hacking the app to silently infect phones. Technology developed by Israeli cyber security company NSO Group was used by the Moroccan government to spy on journalist Omar Radi, a critic of Morocco's human rights record, Amnesty International said on Monday. Morocco: NSO Group Spyware Used Against Moroccan Journalist - New Investigation . (Pixabay) Technology developed by Israeli … NSO Group publicly committed to abide by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights on 10 September. According to Google, "Chrysaor is believed to be related to the Pegasus spyware". People familiar with the matter said it had seemed to stall, but that the DoJ was showing renewed interest in the case. In response to an AP report, NSO denied any involvement. NSO software 'used in Morocco' Earlier this month, Amnesty revealed that NSO's software was used to spy on a prominent Moroccan journalist and human rights defender Omar Radi. Most security cooperation between Morocco and Israel is conducted secretly and involves mostly the exchange of intelligence information and the trade of weapons like electronic warfare, communications and control system. It’s on the news all over the world. Since 2017, journalist Maati Monib and Abdessadak El Bouchattaoui, an attorney who has protested the Moroccan government’s security forces, repeatedly have received … NSO Group’s flagship malware, called Pegasus, allows spies to effectively take control of phones remotely. The NSO Group says that it licenses products “only to government intelligence and law enforcement agencies” to investigate serious crime. [5], On August 1, 2018, the Human Rights Group Amnesty International accused NSO Group of helping Saudi Arabia spy on a member of the organization's staff. The software installs itself and collects all communications and locations of targeted iPhones, including communications sent through iMessage, Gmail, Viber, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram and Skype. Amnesty International said Sunday its security team found evidence of abuse on a Moroccan journalist’s cell phone that can be tied back to spyware developed by NSO Group. The NSO Group sold governments a program called Pegasus, which could be installed on a device simply by calling the device via WhatsApp; the device’s owner did not even have to answer.
While it was undertaking a PR offensive to whitewash its image, its tools were enabling the unlawful surveillance of Omar Radi, an award-winning journalist and activist. [48] The targets supported measures to reduce childhood obesity, including Mexico's "Soda Tax. NSO Group said in a statement that the company “will continue to work to provide technology to states and intelligence organizations,” adding that its purpose is to “save human lives.” In a report published last month, Amnesty International said Moroccan journalist Omar Radi’s phone was tapped using NSO’s technology as part of the government’s efforts to clamp down on dissent. >, Early versions of Pegasus were used to surveil the phone of Joaquín Guzmán, known as El Chapo. “Even after being presented with chilling evidence of its spyware being used to track activists in Morocco, it appears that NSO chose to keep the Moroccan … Israel and Morocco keep cooperation in agriculture, tourism and security. Elle est implantée à Herzelia en Israël et est constituée de deux cents employés. According to Raphael Satter's January 25 article, Citizen Lab "has drawn attention for its repeated exposés of NSO Group", whose "wares have been used by governments to target journalists in Mexico, opposition figures in Panama and human rights activists in the Middle East". This revealed that the device was subject to a series of ‘network injection’ attacks. Your choice regarding cookies on this site
22 June 2020. [38] In court filings WhatsApp alleged that its investigation into how NSO's Pegasus was used against 1,400 users in 2019 showed that the hacks originated from NSO Group servers rather than its clients'. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. Access Now and our partners have repeatedly called on NSO Group and its investors to stop providing its products to countries who use them as tools of … In 2017, we discovered, by retrospectively inspecting their text messages, that dozens of Mexican lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders, opposition politicians, anti-corruption advocates, and an international investigation operating in Mexico were targeted in 2016 with links to NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. “Even after being presented with chilling evidence of its spyware being used to track activists in Morocco, it appears that NSO chose to keep the Moroccan government on as a customer," Ingleton added. ", "Everything We Know About NSO Group: The Professional Spies Who Hacked iPhones With A Single Text", "Activists and journalists in Mexico complain of government spying", "Government Hackers Caught Using Unprecedented iPhone Spy Tool", "Who is spying on Indians? NSO does not publish a list of its government clients, but an earlier investigation by researchers at Citizen Lab identified Morocco as one of 45 … [7], Citizen Lab and Lookout notified Apple's security team, which patched the flaws within ten days and released an update for iOS. GLOBAL THREATS. [56] The results of a joint investigation by The Guardian and Le Monde alleged that people targeted by Pegasus software included six critics of the government in Togo, journalists in India and Morocco, and political activists in Rwanda. The organization argues that the Israeli MOD is putting human rights at risk by allowing NSO to continue to export its products to governments worldwide. NSO creates technology that helps government agencies prevent and investigate terrorism and crime to save thousands of lives around the globe. Omar Radi has been systematically targeted by the Moroccan authorities due to his journalism and activism. Benin: Threat on transgender people and their defenders following the assault on three of them, Israel/ OPT: Cycle of impunity leaves civilians once again paying the price amid escalation of hostilities, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Read Amnesty Tech's latest investigation on NSO Group, Israel: Stop NSO Group exporting spyware to human rights abusers, WhatsApp: Scores of activists targeted with NSO spyware, Amnesty International Among Targets of NSO-powered Campaign, Mozambique: Rescue attempts jeopardized by racial discrimination following Palma attack – new survivors’ testimony, South Asia: Urgent action needed to combat deadly COVID-19 surge across region. Why did it not terminate its contract with the Moroccan authorities? [51] They stated that the Mexican government used Pegasus to send them messages about funeral homes containing links which, when clicked, allowed the government to surreptitiously listen to the investigators. Network injection attacks are notoriously difficult for a victim to spot as they leave few clues. It was founded in 2010 by Niv Carmi, Omri Lavie, and Shalev Hulio. This was a missed opportunity for NSO Group, according to the ten-page letter published on 27 April by this NGO coalition, which is based on public statements by NSO Group and Novalpina Capital, a European company with a majority stake in the group, and on their correspondence with various civil society organisations.. [59] [60], In 2014, the surveillance firm Circles merged with the NSO Group. NSO responded "NSO Group does not operate the Pegasus software for its clients". Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. The contract became the subject of a Panamanian anti-corruption investigation following its disclosure in a leak of confidential information from Italian firm Hacking Team. [32] WhatsApp stated that the exploit targeted 1,400 users in 20 countries, including "at least 100 human-rights defenders, journalists and other members of civil society". Amnesty’s report said NSO Group “tools are being used in support of Moroccan government’s efforts to persecute people for free expression and clamp down on dissent.” The Emirates were Hacking Team’s second-biggest clients, behind only Morocco, reportedly paying the company more than $634,500 to target 1,100 devices with spyware in 2015. Citizen Lab's October report[53] stated, with high confidence, that NSO's Pegasus had been placed on the iPhone of Saudi dissident Omar Abdulaziz, one of Khashoggi's confidantes, months before. [2][3][4] It employed almost 500 people as of 2017, and is based in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, Israel.[1][5][6]. Morocco is one of the 25 customers of Circles, a subsidiary of the Israeli company NSO, according to Citizen Lab. The Kingdom of Morocco did not immediately respond to a request for comment. PHOTO/REUTERS - Archival Photography Shalev Hulio, co-founder of NSO Group "The intelligence that Morocco shares with foreign countries is a product of its agents in the field and not of technological performance. [58], A report by The Citizen Lab revealed in December 2020 that the NSO Group shifted towards zero-click exploits and network-based attack. WhatsApp said "NSO used a network of computers to monitor and update Pegasus after it was implanted on users' devices. NSO Group’s previous owners bought the company in 2014 for $130 million, less than one-seventh of the valuation it was sold for last year. NSO Group Technologies est une entreprise israélienne de sécurité informatique fondée en 2010 par Niv Carmi, Omri Lavie, et Shalev Hulio . [51], In June 2018, an Israeli court indicted a former employee of NSO Group for allegedly stealing a copy of Pegasus and attempting to sell it online for $50 million worth of cryptocurrency. NSO marketed such sophisticated interception technology as recently as January 2020. [12] In October 2019, instant messaging company WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook sued NSO under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Human Rights Defenders in Morocco Targeted Using Malicious NSO Israeli Spyware October 9, 2019 . Depuis quelques jours, le nom de l’entreprise israélienne NSO Group est sur toutes les lèvres. NSO claims that it provides authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime. Two prominent human rights defenders in Morocco have been targeted using surveillance technology developed by the Israeli-based company NSO Group, according to new research published by Amnesty Tech today. The organization found that Radi's phone was subjected to several attacks using a "sophisticated new technique" that silently installed NSO's Pegasus spyware. People familiar with the matter said it had seemed to stall, but that the DoJ was showing renewed interest in the case. It was founded in 2010 by Niv Carmi, Omri Lavie, and Shalev Hulio. Amnesty International investigation into the use of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware in Morocco revealed more on myopia, political bias within the organization U n petit clic et une infiltration. TERRORISTS AND CRIMINALS HAVE GONE DARK.