Organisation
organisation:nso_group
Also: NSO, Q Cyber Technologies, Westbridge Technologies
Surveillance technology company investigated by Citizen Lab and discussed as a possible connection to the targeting operation.
Surveillance technology company investigated by Citizen Lab and discussed as a possible connection to the targeting operation.
“researchers working on NSO targeted by this weird attempt”
“It’s not clear exactly if it is and there isn’t any hard evidence which definitely links it”
Israeli company that sells sophisticated mobile spyware, including Pegasus, to government customers.
“NSO is a company that sometimes flies under the flag of other names like Q Cyber Technologies, and they sell really sophisticated mobile spyware.”
Spyware company associated in the episode with Pegasus and the acquisition of Circles.
“NSO Group makes spyware called Pegasus”
| Direction | Predicate | Other entity | Origin | EP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| incoming | ASSOCIATED_WITH | Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab | Uncertain | 99 |
| incoming | DEVELOPED_BY | Pegasus | Explicit | 100 |
| incoming | DEVELOPED_BY | Pegasus | Explicit | 137 |
| incoming | MEMBER_OF | Shalev Hulio | Explicit | 100 |
| incoming | MEMBER_OF | Omri | Explicit | 100 |
| incoming | INVOLVES | WhatsApp v. NSO Group litigation | Explicit | 100 |
| incoming | ASSOCIATED_WITH | FBI | Attributed | 100 |
| incoming | ASSOCIATED_WITH | Circles | Explicit | 137 |
Black Cube operation against Citizen Lab ASSOCIATED_WITH NSO Group
The operation might have been connected to NSO Group, but Jack says there is no hard evidence definitively linking it to NSO.
Uncertain Confidence 91% · Jack Rhysider EP 99 Details
“It’s not clear exactly if it is and there isn’t any hard evidence which definitely links it”
Pegasus DEVELOPED_BY NSO Group
The episode presents Pegasus as the flagship spyware made and sold by NSO Group.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 100 Details
“It’s the flag ship software that NSO sells”
Shalev Hulio MEMBER_OF NSO Group
Shalev Hulio is identified as one of the founders of NSO and as the company’s S.
Explicit Confidence 98% · Jack Rhysider EP 100 Details
“That’s Shalev Hulio, the S in NSO”
Omri is identified as one of the founders of NSO and as the O in its name.
Explicit Confidence 96% · Jack Rhysider EP 100 Details
“I reached out to NSO first with Omri who’s the O part of NSO”
WhatsApp v. NSO Group litigation INVOLVES NSO Group
WhatsApp sued NSO over exploitation of WhatsApp users; the episode describes the litigation as ongoing at the time of recording.
Explicit Confidence 99% · John Scott-Railton EP 100 Details
“Since the time of that initial discovery, WhatsApp has sued NSO”
According to a Reuters article by Joseph Menn, the FBI was trying to determine whether NSO obtained exploits from Americans; Jack also speculates that the FBI may be investigating NSO more broadly.
Attributed Confidence 88% · Jack Rhysider EP 100 Details
“Joseph Menn at Reuters wrote an article saying that the FBI was trying to determine if the NSO Group got any of its exploits from Americans”
Circles ASSOCIATED_WITH NSO Group
NSO Group purchased Circles from Tal for $140 million.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 137 Details
“NSO Group was like, hey, that’s cool. Can we buy it? Now, NSO Group is someone I’ve covered in detail before. That’s Episode 100, and it’s actually the most-listened to episode of this show. But to quickly recap who they are, NSO Group makes spyware called Pegasus and then sells it to governments around the world who then, well, spy on people. It infects the phone and then gives the government full visibility into it. So, when NSO saw how nifty this Circles company was, they purchased the company from Tal for $140 million.”
Pegasus DEVELOPED_BY NSO Group
Jack says NSO Group makes Pegasus spyware.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 137 Details
“NSO Group makes spyware called Pegasus”