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The phones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by NSO Group spies, the news agency reported.
The phones of at least nine U.S. State Department workers have been hacked using the spyware of the Israeli company NSO Group, Reuters reported, citing four sources unaware of the matter.
The hacking hit iPhones made by Apple of U.S. officials based in Uganda or working on country-related issues, Reuters reported on Friday.
The news agency said it could not determine who launched the cyberattacks.
The Washington Post it was confirmed by Reuters later on Friday that Apple had informed 11 U.S. officials that it had hacked their phones.
The Israeli company sparked outrage earlier this year after an investigation the international media revealed that his Pegasus espionage was being used by security forces and authoritarian governments against journalists and activists in various countries.
The NSO says it works with law enforcement agencies to prosecute criminals and “terrorists.”
But Apple filed a lawsuit Last month against the Israeli company, the company accused it of using its Pegasus spyware to hack users ’devices. Apple also released a patch to address the vulnerabilities that spyware exploits.
The NSO Group said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday that it had not used its tools, but had suspended the relevant accounts and would investigate the news according to the agency’s inquiry.
“If our investigation shows that these actions actually took place with NSO tools, that client will be permanently terminated and legal action will be taken,” an NSO spokesman said, adding that the company will “cooperate with relevant government authorities and provide full information.” we will. “
The news agency’s report comes in early November after US President Joe Biden’s administration imposed sanctions He accused the NSO Group, among other companies, of allowing “transnational repression”.
In July, several Democrats Members of Congress He called on U.S. citizens, including diplomats and aides, to investigate reports of NSO activities. Lawmakers called on the Biden administration to “determine whether America’s national security was harmed.”
The NSO says its hacking tools can’t correct U.S. phone numbers that begin with the +1 country code, but Apple said in a legal complaint last month that it had hacked U.S. citizens’ phones that could “cross and cross international borders.”
Israeli company facing lawsuit over instant messaging app WhatsApp Owned by Meta, formerly Facebook Inc. it was known as.
A U.S. Court of Appeals it ruled last month that WhatsApp could move forward with its 2019 lawsuit against the NSO, dismissing the company’s efforts to claim sovereign immunity because its customers are government agencies.
Officials at the Ugandan embassy in Washington did not comment on the hacking, Reuters said. An Apple spokesman also declined to comment to the news agency, and a State Department spokesman declined to comment on the intrusions, citing the company’s November blacklisting decision.
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