Apple yesterday sued the Israeli spyware maker at the center of the Pegasus surveillance scandal, seeking to block NSO Group from targeting the over one billion iPhones presently in circulation.
The suit from the Silicon Valley giant adds to the trouble facing embattled NSO, which was soaked in controversy over reports that tens of thousands of activists, journalists, and politicians were listed as potential targets of its Pegasus spyware.
US authorities just weeks ago blacklisted NSO to restrict exports from American groups over allegations the Israel firm ‘enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression.’
‘To prevent further abuse and harm to its users, Apple is also seeking a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services, or devices,’
Apple said in a statement announcing the lawsuit filed in US federal court in California.
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‘Defendants are notorious hackers — amoral 21st-century mercenaries who have created highly sophisticated cyber-surveillance machinery that invites routine and flagrant abuse,’ the iPhone maker wrote in its case.
NSO has consistently denied any wrongdoing and insisted its software is intended for use by authorities only in fighting terrorism and other crimes.
‘Pedophiles and terrorists can freely operate in technological safe-havens, and we provide governments the lawful tools to fight it. NSO group will continue to advocate for the truth,’ the firm said in a statement.
Apple says there are 1.65 billion active Apple devices worldwide, including over a billion iPhones.
The suit from Apple is not the first from a Big Tech firm — Facebook sued NSO Group in 2019, accusing it of using the WhatsApp messenger to conduct cyberespionage on journalists, human rights activists and others.
That suit, filed in a California federal court, alleged approximately 1,400 devices were targeted with malicious software to steal valuable information from those using the messaging app.
Apple said Tuesday it is notifying the ‘small number’ of users that it discovered may have been targeted by those types of attacks.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
