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How Israel uses NSO spy software as a communication card

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With the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, Naphtali Bennett, then the Israeli defense minister, came up with an idea to help stem the spread of the disease: let NSO military program developers follow the actions of its citizens.

Ideas from the same father now Prime Minister of Israel did not pass. But it does show the close connection that the Israeli company was persecuted by the freedom fighters in the sale military management programs in oppressive governments they hold high levels of government.

The Pegasus NSO program, which requires a license from the government to export because it is considered a weapon, has in recent years become an integral part of Israeli discourse – a feature that has been on display since this week. revealed by the newspaper agreement that it was found on the phones of 37 journalists, lawyers and politicians. The app secretly converts phones into listening devices while revealing the release.

“Since the 1950s, Israel has used its weapons of mass destruction, the only thing that changes with the names of countries,” said Eitay Mack, an Israeli lawyer who has been trying for years to get the NSO export permit. “The question is whether there will be any change in export policy.”

Legal team responds to Amnesty International’s request for Israel to revoke NSO export certification from the Tel Aviv Regional Court last year © Corinna Kern / Reuters

As the recent press release from Pegasus provoked a worldwide outcry, criticism of Israel has erupted. The reports “appear to be interesting, as well as commercial,” said lawmaker Yair Golan, a former deputy chief of staff, who jumped to the NSO’s aid by speaking on television. “It’s not just the NSO that does this.”

The Ministry of Defense, which is required to approve any export export license, said it would “take appropriate action” if a violation of the export permit has been confirmed.

The founder and chief of the NSO, Shalev Hulio, has denied the Consortium’s findings, alleging that NSO spy programs have been used frequently by civilians, opposition leaders and non-terrorists or criminals.

“We are absolutely saying that this is not Pegasus ‘intention, or chosen as Pegasus’ goal, or what Pegasus would like. This is not in line with any of our clients or NSO expertise,” he told the Financial Times, promising to shut down any customer who appears to be distributing media equipment ordinary people.

The NSO has previously stated that it does not have access to its client. Hulio said the company asked each of its clients individually to come to an end.

‘Everybody’s Playing’

In recent years, Israel has persuaded Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to develop their ties, by offering a secret treaty against the enemies they shared, from the Muslim Brotherhood to Iran.

As countries approach, groups such as Amnesty and the Citizen Lab will follow Pegasus’ additions to phone calls from journalists, protesters and human rights activists in the region.

“It’s like a toy that every officer wants,” said a man who is involved in NSO production in the Gulf. “They love demos, they love being from Israel.”

Similarly, Pegasus insurgents have been registered in the governments of Hungary, India and Rwanda, while former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made alliances with their right-wing leaders.

Israel has for many years ignored a call from a UN press release on Freedom of Expression, among others, to ban the sale of spyware and strictly regulate it.

The NSO chief executive pushed back the idea that the company was accepted by Israel abroad.

“We are not a negotiating tool for the Israeli government; we are a trading company, which we share with UK financial institutions,” Hulio said of Novalpina Capital. “These are just assumptions.”

‘The government is willing to help them’

Those who have fought against the NSO forces in Israel say the company receives strong support from Israeli political laws.

A judge in Israel has ordered Mexican freedom fighters to have their cases heard against the company.

A longtime military intelligence judge is overseeing a lawsuit filed by a Saudi prosecutor and a Washington Post correspondent, Jamal Khashoggi. A friend says the NSO knows his phone is being shot. The judge refused to isolate himself, despite announcing a past relationship with NSO lawyers.

“My view is that the government is willing to help them, especially when it comes to secrecy,” said Alaa Mahajna, the attorney general for all cases.

“Companies should be held accountable for the dangerous technology they sell, but the best way is to protect them and unfortunately, only the Ministry of Defense can do this.”

Naftali Bennett, mediator, also said last year when he was Minister of Defense that the NSO should be used to track citizens during the epidemic © Gil Cohen-Magen / POOL / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

Hulio declined to comment on the charges against him. The NSO said: “These cases have already been discussed in NSO and other court cases and the courts have not accepted this.”

For its part, the NSO did not hide its relationship with the Israeli government. In 2019, his lawyers challenged in court that revealing their client list was “undermining foreign relations”. In a separate statement, the company also claimed that the Israeli government uses NSO technology. Most of the participants are from high-tech martial arts groups.

The NSO has hired well-known Western advisers, including Tom Ridge, former U.S. Secretary of State for International Security, and briefly, Juliette Kayyem, assistant secretary in the same department. Its PR evils are being led by a former Israeli military commander.

In some cases, the Israeli government has intervened to control the company’s business, say two experts who are aware of the problem, especially in their embarrassment, such as when Saudi forces killed them. Khashoggi in Istanbul in October 2018.

The NSO initially suspended its alliance with Saudi Arabia, claiming that its expertise was used to pursue Khashoggi and his allies. But in 2019 it renewed the agreement and full acceptance by the Israeli government, said two people familiar with the matter.

“There was direct encouragement to keep the relationship alive,” said one, who added that NSO workers returning from the Gulf were often consulted by Israeli experts. The head of the NSO denied that it had happened.

‘The sacred bull of wealth’

In many cases, links to the Israeli government have been made public. When a dam collapsed in Brazil in January 2019, killing hundreds, the government sent the HSOo, the NSO, which is responsible for the search and rescue of the Israeli army, as part of their relief work.

“I went there as part of my conservation work. I am proud of what I am doing and it is not in line with the NSO, ”he said.

Hulio showed how the NSO program could also be used to get mobile phones up to the last cent, according to those who know about his travels.

“Israel has other goals in the negotiations, and the interests and interests of the business community can sometimes spread,” said Shay Aspril, a writer and research journalist who unveiled NSO’s secret expertise in 2012.

“The people of Israel do not have a clear understanding of what is going on within the realm of high technology – the sacred financial bull – and because the people of Israel are not concerned, there is nothing the government can do to force the government to change anything.”

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