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NSO Group 'will no longer be responding to inquiries' about misuse of its software
Denies everything, as governments open probes into the company and its wares
The NSO Group, a purveyor of spyware it hopes governments and law enforcement bodies will use to fight terrorism, has announced it will not answer any further questions about allegations raised by Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories that its products have been widely misused.
The company on Wednesday published a missive titled "Enough is Enough" that opens as follows:
The document goes on to state that the list of alleged targets "is not a list of targets or potential targets of Pegasus" and that "The numbers in the list are not related to NSO group".
"Any claim that a name in the list is necessarily related to a Pegasus target or Pegasus potential target is erroneous and false," the statement adds.
Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories, plus the 17 media outlets privy to the documents allegedly detailing the leak, stand by their analysis and reporting. Indeed, the media outlets continue to report the contents of the list, recently revealing that French President Emmanuel Macron and a number of cabinet members were included in the list of those whose phones were touched by Pegasus.
Macron has said France will investigate the software.
- India IT minister denies illegal use of NSO Pegasus spyware
- Amnesty International and French media protection org claim massive misuse of NSO spyware
- Microsoft, Google, Citizen Lab blow lid off zero-day bug-exploiting spyware sold to governments
- Israeli spyware maker NSO channels Hollywood spy thrillers in appeal for legal immunity in WhatsApp battle
Mexican President Andrés Manuel has also ordered investigations, and called for the release of WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange for first alerting the world to the sort of pervasive surveillance Pegasus enables – with or without misuse.
In Hungary, the opposition is calling for investigations into suggestions that they've been targeted by the government. And in India, some are calling for investigations into how NSO was used as a catspaw to discredit the nation's government.
The NSO Group's post states it "will thoroughly investigate any credible proof of misuse of its technologies, as we always had, and will shut down the system where necessary".
There is no evidence it's shut down Pegasus – just its PR department. ®