Status: 08/21/2022 5:40 p.m
NSO produces the notorious spy software “Pegasus”, which was used to spy on politicians, journalists and activists. The founder and boss of the Israeli company has now resigned.
The head of the Israeli spy software manufacturer NSO, Shalev Hulio, has resigned, according to the company. Company officials also reported that 100 employees, around 13 percent of NSO staff, were to be laid off. Hulio is leaving his post as part of a restructuring, a company spokesman said. He will be replaced by the previous director for operational business, Yaron Shohat, who will also lead the reorganization process. The indebted company wants to focus on the NATO member states as customers in the future.
Manufacturer of powerful spyware
NSO had come under international criticism because the company produces the “Pegasus” spy software. It can be used to monitor contacts, messages and location data of a target person on their smartphone. According to the NSO, this is intended to track down terrorists and criminals – but in fact journalists and activists were also spied on in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Mexico or the West Bank.
German authorities – the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Intelligence Service – also use the software, as journalistic research has shown.
The US put NSO on the sanctions list in 2021 to make it more difficult for the company to access US technology. Apple and Facebook accuse NSO of “breaking into” their products and have sued the company.
The company was also hit by the Israeli decision to tighten controls on software exports. This reduced the number of states NSO can sell its surveillance tools to from 100 to 37.