Wikipedia (en)
NSO Group Technologies (NSO standing for Niv, Shalev and Omri, the names of the company's founders) is an Israeli technology firm primarily known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus, which is capable of remote zero-click surveillance of smartphones. It was founded in 2010 by Niv Karmi, Omri Lavie, and Shalev Hulio. It employed almost 500 people as of 2017, and is based in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, Israel.NSO Group is a subsidiary of the Q Cyber Technologies group of companies. Q Cyber Technologies is the name the NSO Group uses in Israel, OSY Technologies in Luxembourg, and in North America it has a subsidiary formerly known as Westbridge. It has operated through other companies around the world.According to several reports, software created by NSO Group was used in targeted attacks against human rights activists and journalists in various countries, was used in state espionage against Pakistan, and played a role in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi by agents of the Saudi government. In October 2019, instant messaging company WhatsApp and its parent company Meta Platforms (then known as Facebook) sued NSO and Q Cyber Technologies under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
NSO claims that it provides authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime.The Pegasus spyware is classified as a weapon by Israel and any export of the technology must be approved by the government.Annual revenues were around US$40 million in 2013 and $150 million in 2015. In June 2017, the company was put up for sale for $1 billion by Francisco Partners. Founders Lavie and Hulio, partnering with European private equity fund Novalpina Capital, purchased a majority stake in NSO in February 2019.On 3 November 2021 the United States added the NSO Group to its Entity List, for acting "contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US" and it effectively bans the sale of hardware and software to the company. On 23 November 2021, NSO Group were sued by Apple, Inc. for their activities in relation to Apple products.
