F.B.I. Secretly Bought Israeli Spyware and Explored Hacking U.S. Phones

[Celerity]

Israel used the NSO Group’s software as a tool of diplomacy. The F.B.I. wanted it for domestic surveillance. Then everything soured. Here are highlights of a New York Times Magazine investigation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/world/middleeast/israel-pegasus-spyware.html



It is widely regarded as the world’s most potent spyware, capable of reliably cracking the encrypted communications of iPhone and Android smartphones.

The software, Pegasus, made by an Israeli company, NSO Group, has been able to track terrorists and drug cartels. It has also been used against human rights activists, journalists and dissidents.

Now, an investigation published Friday by The New York Times Magazine has found that Israel, which controls the export of the spyware, just as it does the export of conventional weapons, has made Pegasus a key component of its national security strategy, using it to advance its interests around the world.

The yearlong investigation, by Ronen Bergman and Mark Mazzetti, also reports that the F.B.I. bought and tested NSO software for years with plans to use it for domestic surveillance until the agency finally decided last year not to deploy the tools.

snip



The Battle for the World’s Most Powerful Cyberweapon

A Times investigation reveals how Israel reaped diplomatic gains around the world from NSO’s Pegasus spyware — a tool America itself purchased but is now trying to ban

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/magazine/nso-group-israel-spyware.html

[global1]

1. Was This Something That Was Considered Under The Tr**p Administration?.....nt

[Celerity]

4. yes

[Firestorm49]

2. The FBI decided not to use it........sure- right.

[mitch96]

3. Exactly... Just like the Israeli police did not use it on the Palestinians... They all lie..nt

[Eugene]

6. Never mind the Palestinians, Israeli police was caught using Pegasus on Israeli citizens as well.

Israel police uses NSO’s Pegasus to spy on citizens

Mayors, leaders of political protests against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former governmental employees, were among those tracked by police without a search or bugging warrant authorizing the surveillance

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3927410,00.html

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/jan/18/israeli-citizens-targeted-by-police-using-pegasus-spyware-report-claims

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/police-used-nso-s-pegasus-to-spy-on-israelis-without-court-order-report-says-1.10546407

[crickets]

5. The implications for Israel's foreign policy are profound.

It's a long article (I've only read about a third so far) but it goes into great detail of how this software has become a major bargaining tool for Israel. The FBI turning Pegasus down, if they did do so, is a big slap in the face to Israel. It's understandable that FBI lawyers spent about two years arguing this. On ethical and legal grounds, good for the FBI. In terms of security (and I am huge privacy advocate) Pegasus would be a powerful tool against rising militant groups at home. Still not a good idea given how it could, and almost certainly would, be abused. More to read.