Apple files lawsuit against Israeli spyware NSO group for allegedly targeting its users

US tech giant Apple on Tuesday announced that it is suing Israel’s NSO Group allegedly for hacking its phones without the consent of hundreds of users. According to the statement released by Apple, it is seeking to block NSO Group from targeting the over one billion iPhones in circulation.

As per the statement, it has filed a lawsuit in federal court in California saying NSO Group employees are “amoral 21st-century mercenaries who have created highly sophisticated cyber-surveillance machinery that invites routine and flagrant abuse.”

"To prevent further abuse and harm to its users, Apple is also seeking a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services, or devices," Apple said in a statement released in a blog. It noted that the researchers and journalists have publicly documented the history of this spyware being abused to target journalists, activists, dissidents, academics, and government officials.

"State-sponsored actors like the NSO Group spend millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technologies without effective accountability. That needs to change," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "Apple devices are the most secure consumer hardware on the market — but private companies developing state-sponsored spyware have become even more dangerous. While these cybersecurity threats only impact a very small number of our customers, we take any attack on our users very seriously, and we’re constantly working to strengthen the security and privacy protections in iOS to keep all our users safe," added Federighi.

Palestinian, Indian human rights activists attacked by spyware

Recently, Israeli Spyware Maker landed in controversy after researchers disclosed the spyware was detected on the cellphones of six Palestinian human rights activists. According to Mohammed al-Maskati, the researcher who first detected the spyware in the activists, the hacking began in July 2020 and worked till the investigators released the report. The researchers, in the report, said that the Israeli government designated the group as a terrorist organisation in order to overshadow the hacks’ discovery. Notably, the spyware also affected the mobile phones of some of the well-known Indian politicians and journalists and human rights activists resulting in chaos among Opposition parties. 

NSO group denied allegations

However, when the America based news agency, AP asked the NSO group over the allegations levelled by a group of researchers, the spyware said it does not identify its customers for contractual and national security reasons. Further, in a statement, the group reiterated that they sell their products only to government agencies for use against "serious crime and terror.' It is worth mentioning US President Joe Biden blacklisted the NSO Group and a lesser-known Israeli competitor last week after several reports red-flagged the use of spyware in several people including top defence officials. 

(Image: AP/Pixabay)