According to experts testifying on behalf of the notorious business’s owners, Israeli outfit NSO Group has stonewalled queries about whether it is acting lawfully.
Berkeley Analysis Group (BRG), the US consultant in charge of the personal equity fund that owns 70 percent of NSO Group last year, has told EU legislators that its investigations into the company’s lawfulness were ignored and upended by NSO Group’s administrative crew.
BRG’s complaint adds to the growing issue surrounding NSO, which was once a prized asset that Israel utilized as a diplomatic calling card, but is now banned in the US and facing lawsuits from Meta and Apple.
NSO’s Pegasus application can enter a smartphone and copy its encrypted data. Last year, it was uncovered that it had been used to track the smartphones of 37 journalists, human rights campaigners, and other noteworthy persons.
EU investigation underway
Last week, the Spanish government said that Pegasus had been used to hack the phones of the country’s prime minister and defense minister, marking the first time it has been used against a sitting president.
In March, the European Parliament established a committee to investigate the use of Pegasus and other surveillance spy software, claiming it will look into whether or not its usage has broken EU legislation and fundamental rights.
Sophie in ‘t Veld, the Dutch Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in charge of the investigation, stated that the BRG letter posed concerns at the core of the problems to be uncovered and that MEPs would focus on what it said with regard to NSO.
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