US | Pegasus
US blacklists Pegasus-maker Israeli company over snooping charges
Washington/IBNS: US authorities have blacklisted Israeli company NSO, which is the maker of Pegasus spyware, after determining that the firm supplied software used to target officials and journalists, reports said.
"These tools have also enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression, which is the practice of authoritarian governments targeting dissidents, journalists and activists outside of their sovereign borders to silence dissent," the US Commerce Department said in a statement accessed by media.
Some 50,000 phone numbers across the world have been identified as people of interest since 2016 by clients of the Israeli firm NSO, The Wire had reported.
More than 1,000 phone numbers in India appeared on the snooping list of the Pegasus, stated a collaborative investigation report by The Wire, The Washington Post and other media partners in 10 countries.
NSO had, however, denied the snooping allegations, claiming that it only offers its spyware to "vetted governments" and said it was "considering a defamation lawsuit".
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