JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Isaac Benbenisti, the new CEO of NSO Corporation, which manufactures the Pegasus spyware, has resigned, Israeli media said Thursday, a week after the U.S. Department of Commerce blacklisted the company over the cyber-espionage scandals. by Pegasus.

Reuters reported that the Israeli technology company "NSO" refused to comment on the news of the resignation.

Bennisti was appointed to the position of CEO on October 31, but he has not started his work yet.

The man joined the Israeli company last summer, and co-chaired with Sherry Dolph.

American decision

And Israeli media attributed the resignation of the new CEO of the company to the decision of the US Department of Commerce to include “NSO” on the blacklist because it poses a threat to US national security, and the ministry explained in a statement that the Israeli company sold a spyware program to a foreign government that was used to target government officials, journalists and others.


Cell phones hacked by Pegasus software turn into spying devices, allowing the compromised user to read messages of targeted people, search photos and other data, track their location and even turn on their camera without their knowledge.

For his part, a spokesman for "NSO" said that the group will seek to overturn the US decision because its technologies support the interests and national security policies of the United States.

Reuters quoted a statement by a spokesman for the Israeli company that the "NSO Group" will provide information regarding its strong commitment to human rights programs, "which has already led to the cessation of a number of contacts with government agencies that have abused our products."

spy scandal

The Israeli company was accused this summer of a global espionage scandal after an investigation published by 17 international media outlets as of last July 18, showed that the Pegasus program allowed spying on at least 180 journalists, 600 political figures, 85 human rights activists and 65 company owners in several countries.

And the media, whose investigations revealed this information, had reported at the time that the leaked list included one of the phone numbers of French President Emmanuel Macron, and the numbers of several French ministers.

President Macron changed his phone after his number appeared on a list of potential targets.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett discussed with the French President the issue of the Pegasus spyware program that targeted Macron's phone, according to an Israeli diplomatic source.

The diplomatic source said that Macron and Bennett agreed, in a meeting on the sidelines of the climate summit held in Britain, to continue dealing with the issue in a confidential and professional manner, and with transparency between the two sides.