Guardian: [FBI confirms it obtained NSO's Pegasus spyware

[abqtommy]

Bureau says sophisticated hacking tool was never used in support of any investigation]

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/feb/02/fbi-confirms-it-obtained-nsos-pegasus-spyware

>The FBI has confirmed that it obtained NSO Group’s powerful Pegasus spyware, suggesting that it bought access to the Israeli surveillance tool to “stay abreast of emerging technologies and tradecraft”.

In a statement released to the Guardian, the bureau said it had procured a “limited licence” to access Pegasus for “product testing and evaluation only”, and suggested that its evaluation of the tool partly related to security concerns if the spyware fell into the “wrong hands”.

The bureau also claimed it had never used Pegasus in support of any FBI investigation. “There was no operational use in support of any investigation, the FBI procured a limited licence for product testing and evaluation only,” it said.

snip

The FBI’s procurement of Pegasus, which occurred in 2019 under the Trump administration, was first reported by the New York Times.<

There's lots more text and a photo at the link. Color me cynical, but I refuse to believe
that "There was no operational use in support of any investigation...".

[getagrip_already]

1. notice what they didn't say.....

They said the fbi never used it. They didn't say it was never used. Contractors, third parties, even russian nationals could have had access to it.

Reporters, do your danged jobs.