The maker of the powerful spy software allegedly used to hack the phones of various people around the globe says blaming the company is like “criticising a car manufacturer when a drunk driver crashes.
A NSO spokesperson told BBC: “If I am the manufacturer of a car and now you take the car and you are driving drunken and you hit somebody, you do not go to the car manufacturer, you go to the driver. We are sending the system to governments, we get all the correct accreditation and do it all legally.
“You know, if a customer decides to misuse the system, he will not be a customer anymore. But all the allegations and all the finger-pointing should be at the customer. NSO Group is facing international criticism, after reporters obtained a list of alleged potential targets for spyware, including activists, politicians and journalists.
Investigations have begun as the list, of 50 000 phone numbers, contained a small number of hacked phones.
Pegasus infects iPhones and Android devices, allowing operators to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones and cameras.
The Israeli company says its software is intended for use against criminals and terrorists and made available to only military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies from countries with good human rights records.
But a consortium of news organisations, led by French media outlet Forbidden Stories, has published dozens of stories based around the list.
NSO Group said it had been told the list had been hacked from its Cyprus servers But a company spokesman told BBC News: “Firstly, we don’t have servers in Cyprus. And secondly, we don’t have any data of our customers in our possession. And more than that, the customers are not related to each other, as each customer is separate.
In other news – Actress Amanda Du-pont Finally Reunites With Her Siblings
Skeem Saam star Amanda Du-pont has finally reunited with her sisters after 2 years. The actress said they came together to celebrated one of her sibling’s 30th birthday.
Penning a sweet birthday message for her sister Kim on Instagram, Amanda said she wishes her all the best for her future endeavors. Learn more
Source: IOL
