Apple is suing Israeli surveillance software maker Nso Group, claiming that the company abused its products and services by trying to install software on some users' iPhones. The lawsuit, filed yesterday in federal court in San Jose, California, claims the NSO group participated in "efforts organized in 2021 to target and attack Apple's customers, products and servers and the company through malicious malware and spyware. ", and seeks an injunction against the company to prevent it from using any Apple software, service or device.
According to security researchers, the Israeli company has developed hacking techniques to install its surveillance software, called Pegasus, on Apple's cell phones without the user knowing or consenting. In the lawsuit of the Cupertino company it is stated that Nso "did not violate the data contained on Apple servers, but abused the company's services and servers to perpetrate attacks". The lawsuit represents a new attack on the surveillance software maker since 2019, when WhatsApp accused Nso of sending malware to 1,400 of its users. Nso had challenged these allegations, arguing that its products are used by government intelligence services and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime.
"I am very pleased to see Apple join the effort to hold spyware companies accountable," Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, said in a tweet. "We have long called for industry action against NSO, and today's lawsuit shows that technology vendors are united in fighting spyware and ensuring greater security for our users." The two lawsuits, in short, show that the tech giants are turning to new methods, after various attempts to counter commercial hacking tools with technical means, as stated John Scott-Railton, researcher at Citizen Lab, a company that gives years monitors the activities of the Nso group.
According to the Cupertino company, its employees spent thousands of hours responding to attacks by the Nso group. Researchers said that, in 2016, Nso discovered a way to install its spyware on victims' iPhones with the click of a link, while in September it developed an even more sophisticated "zero click" iPhone attack, which installed it. Pegasus spyware on the devices without any action by the victims. Both incidents prompted Apple to release security updates for its devices.
Currently, the Israeli company is faced with increasing pressure to change its business practices as researchers have linked its products to cyber attacks against journalists, politicians and political dissidents. In early November, the Biden administration placed the NSO group on the list of export-banned companies to sanction this alleged behavior, preventing it from obtaining certain US technologies. The move could make it more difficult for the company to conclude contracts with international clients. (All rights reserved)