Corellium, a cybersecurity company that offered or sold its tools to government spyware and hacking-tool makers in Israel, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates, and a cybersecurity company that may be connected to the Chinese Government, according to WIRED.
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People are seen in an Apple store in a shopping mall in Shanghai on November 14, 2022.
A 507-page document prepared by Apple with the aim to use it in their 2019 lawsuit against Corellium showed that the company had dealings with companies that have a track record of selling tools to repressive regimes and countries with poor human rights.
The document showed that in 2019, Correllium offered a trial of its product to NSO Group. It is known that the group has customers that were caught using its software against journalists and human rights defenders. It also showed that Corellium's sales staff offers to provide a quote to buy its software DarkMatter.
According to Corellium, these two companies only had access to a trial version of their software, and they were denied requests to buy the full version.
Is Something Fish Going On?
It may be hard to believe that Corellium had ties with the said companies with its reputation. However, the leaked document showed that the company did work with several firms that use bugs and exploits to hack mobile phones.
The document also contained email exchanges between Corellium staff and customers or potential customers, which include DarkMatter and the NSO Group.
Also in 2019, Corellium sold its software to Paragon, which has been reported to provide government surveillance technology. The company also licensed its software to Pwnzen Infotech, whose founders were part of a well-known Chinese group that consists of elite iOS and iPhone hackers.
To add fuel to the fire, it's been revealed that one of Corellium's clients is a Russian iPhone hacking company, Elcomsoft. Corellium did not respond about the contents of the document; instead, they shared a draft blog post in which the company said they offered trials to NSO Group and DarkMatter but denied that they are their customers.
It is still a mystery if they have had any dealing with these companies and if they are going to cut ties with these corporations.
What Happens Now?
This leads us to speculate what will happen to Corellium. This could affect the company's reputation. The leaked document sheds light on the operations of a cybersecurity company that promised to protect users' privacy.
It may even make Apple to think twice before they work with the company again. Will they even stand on the same side after Corellium's involvement with surveillance technology companies? For now, it is still speculative. We will just have to wait and see to find out what's going to happen next.
Related Article: Apple Appeals Corellium Copyright Lawsuit Verdict After Losing in 2020-Separate to Recent Settlement
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Written by April Fowell
