Apple is suing Israeli spyware company NSO Group and its parent company to target iPhone users with hacking tools. NSO’s Pegasus software can infect iPhone and Android devices, allowing carriers to check messages. Photos, and emails, record conversations, and secretly activate microphones and cameras.
The NSO Group says its tools are designed to target terrorists and criminals. But it is also said to have been used by activists, politicians, and journalists. NSO Group claims to supply Pegasus to military, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies from countries with good human rights performance.
However, US officials blocked the company earlier this month, saying the software “enables foreign governments to carry out transnational repression. A practice by authoritarian governments that target dissidents, journalists, and activists. Apple’s move follows a lawsuit filed by WhatsApp in 2019 that is still roaming the US justice system.
In its original lawsuit, WhatsApp said that the NSO Group “designed the malware to access messages and other communications. After they were decrypted on the target device.” Other technology companies, including Microsoft, Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook. Alphabet, owner of Google, and Cisco Systems, have previously criticized NSO.
In a blog post announcing the lawsuit in California. Apple said it wanted to make the NSO Group and its parent company OSY Technologies “responsible for monitoring and targeting Apple users.”
“To prevent abuse and further harm to its users, Apple is also seeking a permanent ban on the NSO group from using Apple software, services or devices,” it said.
Analyzer box from James Clayton, technology reporter for North America
Apple prides itself on its privacy. This is the main selling point of their device. So do not be surprised if the company that is trying to break through Apple’s security features is fighting the giant.
But that’s not the only reason Apple exists. Not all hackers are considered equal. For example, the NSO Group has government customers or, as Apple puts it, “state-sponsored. NSO claims to only work with institutions that have an excellent human rights record.
In this way, the company tries to differentiate itself from underground hackers who carry out malicious activities.
According to the NSO Group, Apple rejects this distinction. Apple emphasizes that no matter who you are if you are a group that tries to hack an Apple product, they will take action for whatever reason. But there’s a little deeper. Apple will believe that suing a private company is easier and more politically acceptable than a government claiming to use the technology.