London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Pegasus spyware seller: Blame our customers, not us, for hacking

Pegasus spyware seller: Blame our customers, not us, for hacking

The maker of powerful spy software allegedly used to hack the phones of innocent people, social activists, journalists, politicians, public servants and businesses people, says blaming the company is like "criticising a car manufacturer when a drunk driver crashes".

The maker of powerful spy software allegedly used to hack the phones of innocent people says blaming the company is like "criticising a car manufacturer when a drunk driver crashes".

NSO Group is facing international criticism, after reporters obtained a list of alleged potential targets for spyware, including activists, politicians and journalists.

Investigations have begun as the list, of 50,000 phone numbers, contained a small number of hacked phones.

Pegasus infects iPhones and Android devices, allowing operators to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones and cameras.

The Israeli company says its software is intended for use against criminals and terrorists and made available to only military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies from countries with good human-rights records.

But a consortium of news organisations, led by French media outlet Forbidden Stories, has published dozens of stories based around the list, including allegations French President Emmanuel Macron's number was on it and may have been targeted.

NSO Group said it had been told the list had been hacked from its Cyprus servers

But a company spokesman told BBC News: "Firstly, we don't have servers in Cyprus.

"And secondly, we don't have any data of our customers in our possession.

"And more than that, the customers are not related to each other, as each customer is separate.

"So there should not be a list like this at all anywhere."

And the number of potential targets did not reflect the way Pegasus worked.

"It's an insane number," the spokesman said.

"Our customers have an average of 100 targets a year.

"Since the beginning of the company, we didn't have 50,000 targets total."

Security services


Many times in recent years, the company has been accused of allowing repressive governments to hack innocent people, including those close to murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

But it denies this and all other allegations.

It does not routinely investigate who is targeted but has systems in place to vet security services it sells to, it says.

US-based journalist and critic of Saudi Arabia's government Jamal Khashoggi was murdered on 2 October 2018


Earlier this month, NSO Group launched its Transparency Report, saying: "We must hold ourselves to a higher standard and act with stewardship and transparency... to ensure public safety and concern for human rights and privacy."

But on Wednesday, the spokesman said: "If I am the manufacturer of a car and now you take the car and you are driving drunken and you hit somebody, you do not go to the car manufacturer, you go to the driver.

"We are sending the system to governments, we get all the correct accreditation and do it all legally.

"You know, if a customer decides to misuse the system, he will not be a customer anymore.

"But all the allegations and all the finger-pointing should be at the customer."

'A coincidence'


Of the people whose numbers are on the list, 67 agreed to give Forbidden Stories their phones for forensic analysis.

And this research, by Amnesty International Security Labs, reportedly found evidence of potential targeting by Pegasus on 37 of those.

But NSO Group said it had no knowledge of how some phones on the list contained remnants of spyware.

It could be "a coincidence", the spokesman said.


What’s it like to have spyware on your phone?


Comments

Ken 4 year ago
Bacause as we know the joo is always the victim never the problem

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×