Separately, a senior Palestinian official claimed that the cell phones of six Palestinian NGO members targeted by the Israeli authorities, including a Frenchman and an American, had been infected with Pegasus.
On October 31, the NSO group, established in the suburb of the Israeli metropolis Tel Aviv, announced a reorganization of its management in which Vice-President Isaac Benbenisti was promoted to CEO and CEO Shalev Hulio became “world president”.
But this reform has not had time to be implemented insofar as Mr. Hulio has decided to stay in the saddle and Mr. Benbenisti to leave the group, a source close to the group told AFP on Thursday. , confirming information from the specialized Israeli press.
According to this source, the decision of Shalev Hulio, founder of the group, to remain in office as CEO was explained by Washington's decision last week to place the company on the American blacklist of companies threatening state security.
"After the problems in the United States, Shalev decided to remain at the head of the group," said the source, requesting anonymity.
The NSO group found itself exposed this summer after investigations published by a consortium of 17 international media outlets, revealing that its Pegasus software could have spied on the numbers of journalists, politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron, activists and business leaders from different countries.
"Piracy"
Once installed in a mobile phone, Pegasus allows you to spy on its user, accessing their mailboxes, their data, or activating the device remotely for the purpose of capturing sound or images.
Pegasus software can only be sold to states, and such sales must be approved by a special committee of the Israeli Defense Ministry responsible for approving arms sales.
"I don't think there is another country in the world that has stricter rules on cyber warfare," Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid said last Saturday when asked about the designation of NSO by states -Unis, first ally of the Hebrew state.
NSO said it was "appalled" by this designation, claiming to have a "rigorous" program, in accordance with human rights, and had urged the United States to reconsider its position.
But the laptops of six Palestinian NGO members targeted by Israeli authorities, including a French and an American, have been infected with the Pegasus software, human rights organizations said after testing their devices.
"We have confirmations from experts and specialized entities indicating that the Pegasus software has been detected on the cell phones of three officials of the (Palestinian) foreign ministry," Ahmed el-Deek told AFP. senior ministry official.
The Palestinian Authority "condemns in the strongest terms the hacking by the Israeli occupation of the phones of workers of Palestinian civil society organizations and the Foreign Ministry," the Palestinian Authority said in a statement, saying "evaluate his options" in this matter.
© 2021 AFP