The FBI has secretly bought NSO Group's infamous Pegasus spyware but never used, according to new reports.
FBI Bought Pegasus Spyware
According to The New York Times, the FBI secretly bought the Pegasus spyware back in 2019. The NSO Group also gave the security agency a demonstration of Phantom, a newer tool that could hack American phone numbers.
According to Apple Insider, the FBI considered using the Pegasus spyware for US domestic surveillance when the agency bought it.
The US Justice Department and the FBI spent two years discussing whether to use Phantom, with the FBI deciding against it and all NSO spyware in 2021.
Nonetheless, the New York Times report states that the Pegasus equipment is still in the FBI's possession at a New Jersey facility.
In late 2021, Apple sued the NSO Group over its spyware. In December 2021, the NSO Group reportedly thought of killing Pegasus in the face of several lawsuits and financial pressure, according to Apple Insider.
The NSO Group started deliberating the move after the US Commerce Department blacklisted the company.
The New York Times said the NSO Group being blacklisted denies them access to US technology that it uses in its operations, like Amazon cloud servers.
NSO Group's Financial Trouble
The report about the FBI buying the Pegasus spyware comes after it was reported that the NSO Group is planning to shut down because of its financial trouble.
As reported by Tech Times in December 2021, the NSO Group plans to sell all of its properties to another tech firm.
The anonymous group that leaked this information mentioned that several investment funds in the United States are discussing the sale of the company's tools.
Also, these companies want to redirect Pegasus' purpose to where the spyware could be used to protect smartphones instead of hacking them.
The discussion will include $200 million in the capital that will change the spyware into a defensive cyber security service.
According to The Next Web, there is a lot of skepticism that surrounds the transformation of spyware. Tech firms are still finding it difficult to trust a product that was used to deliver malicious activities.
Ronald Deibert from Citizen Labs said that people should be cautious about the rebranding of Pegasus.
Deibert, the Canadian research company director, said that the public should not believe the hype about defensive products and that people should watch out for corporate rebranding.
The Pegasus spyware works by gaining access to the victim's smartphone. The hacker could easily browse over the victim's private messages and pictures, as well as their applications and other confidential information.
The dangerous spyware was connected to the deaths of a couple of Israeli journalists. It was believed that the spyware was used to spy on more than 50,000 people that were a part of the contact list of the Israeli government.
Related Article: How Does Pegasus Spyware Work and How to Protect Yourself from Attacks
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
