Israel’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, distanced the government from the NSO Group on Saturday, which was blacklisted by the United States this week for allegedly abusing its phone hacking spyware. A survey of 17 media organizations published in July stated that NSO’s Pegasus software has targeted the smartphones of journalists, rights defenders and government officials in multiple countries. The company sent its products abroad under the permission of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

After suspected software abuse emerged, the ministry has launched its own investigation into the company’s actions. No results have been announced yet, and Israel has so far not indicated that it is considering restrictions on exports from the National Bureau of Statistics. “The National Bureau of Statistics is a private company, not a government project, so even if it is designated, it has nothing to do with the Israeli government’s policy,” Rapide said at a news conference in Jerusalem. “I don’t think there is another country in the world that has such strict regulations on cyber warfare, and enforces these regulations more strictly than Israel, and we will continue to do so.”

This is the first time a senior Israeli minister has publicly made the above remarks since the US Department of Commerce announced its blacklist on Wednesday. In the past, NSO Group has been accused of selling hacking tools to authoritarian regimes. The National Bureau of Statistics stated that it only sells its products to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and takes measures to curb abuse.

They are included on the US list because they are engaged in activities that violate US national security or foreign policy interests, which means that their American counterparts are restricted from exporting to them. The National Bureau of Statistics expressed its “frustration” with the U.S. decision and terminated its contracts with government agencies that abused its advertised products as a legitimate tool to help counter-criminal authorities fight terrorism.

News Source :Gadgets 360