"Notorious pirates": Apple sues NSO, Israeli software maker Pegasus
Apple, the American digital giant, which had to repair a flaw exploited by the Pegasus software, is asking the court to permanently ban NSO's programs on its devices and services.
© AFP - JACK GUEZ
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The noose is tightening in the United States around NSO Group, the Israeli manufacturer of ultra-controversial spy software, with the lawsuits filed on Tuesday, November 23 by the American digital giant, exasperated that its iPhones have been hacked.
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The NSO company is made up of "
notorious pirates
", assert the lawyers of the Californian group.
Their complaint holds the Israeli firm responsible for the "
malicious activities
" of some of its clients, including governments.
"
These are amoral mercenaries of the twenty-first century who have created ultra sophisticated cybersurveillance machines, inciting flagrant and routine abuses
," says Apple's statement.
In September, the apple brand had to fix a computer vulnerability exploited by Pegasus.
According to researchers at Citizen Lab, the cybersecurity organization at the University of Toronto, the software had been exploiting a flaw in iMessage, Apple's messaging system, since at least February 2021. This allowed it to infect iPhones, without even that users do not have to click on trapped links or buttons, in a process known as "
zero-click
".
This is how Canadian researchers discovered that the iPhone of a Saudi activist had been infected.
The firm created by Steve Jobs has therefore asked the court to definitively ban NSO programs on its devices and services.
►
To listen: "Pegasus" scandal: "
This software is used to monitor the population at large
"
"Fight for the truth"
"
Thousands of lives have been saved around the world thanks to NSO Group technologies
," said a spokesperson for the firm, quoted by AFP.
Pedophiles and terrorists can flourish freely within the confines of the technological equipment at their disposal, and we provide legal tools for governments to combat them.
NSO Group will continue to fight for the truth.
"
In early November, a new investigation revealed that Pegasus had been used to hack the phones of members of Palestinian NGOs recently placed on Israel's “terrorist groups” list.
The investigation carried out by the European group Frontline Defenders concluded, after cross-checking with the Citizen Lab and Amnesty International, that six laptops had been infected with the software.
An international media collective revealed this summer that Pegasus had made it possible to spy on the numbers of journalists, politicians, activists or business leaders from different countries, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
►
To read also: Pegasus: the spyware used against six Palestinians, officials and activists
$ 500 million in debt
The complaint comes as other US companies and authorities have taken action against the Israeli publisher.
In early November, Washington added NSO Group to its list of banned companies.
“
The United States is committed to using export controls in an incisive way to hold accountable companies that develop, commercialize or use technology for malicious purposes, that threaten the cybersecurity of members of civil society or government, dissidents, and organizations based here and abroad,
”said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
The Israeli group said it was "
appalled
" by this decision, assuring that NSO has a "
rigorous
ethical charter
, based on American values
".
According to some analysts, the Israeli firm is in danger of bankruptcy.
His debts would reach $ 500 million.
►
To read also: The United States places NSO, the Israeli group designer of Pegasus, on its blacklist
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United States
Pegasus
Digital
Cybercriminality
Emmanuel Macron