US Blacklists 2 Israeli Cyberattack Companies, Including NSO Group

The United States has blacklisted two Israeli cyberattack companies. The NSO Group was added to a list of companies that the US Department of Commerce says operate against US national security interests and its foreign policy interests. The Israeli firm Candiru also was added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List. The firms were added to the list “based on evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments. The spyware tools were used to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics and embassy workers,” according to a statement released by the department. NSO has come under scrutiny following reports that its Pegasus spyware has been used by certain governments, including the UAE, Hungary, India, Mexico, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, to spy on human rights activists, politicians and journalists. NSO says the software was sold to countries to allow their government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime.