The United States Commerce Department decided to add Israel’s NSO Group and Candiru to its trade blacklist, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.
According to a statement released by the US Department, “NSO Group and Candiru (Israel) were added to the Entity List based on evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers.”
Huge deal: The U.S. government just added NSO Group to a federal blacklist, saying its spyware had been used to "maliciously target" government officials, journalists, activists, academics and embassy workers around the world https://t.co/y6ioU0SEVo
— Drew Harwell (@drewharwell) November 3, 2021
The decision to add these companies to the list, for engaging in activities that are “contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests, means that exports to them from U.S counterparts are restricted,” Reuters also reported.
NSO Group Technology is primarily known for its spyware Pegasus, which has been repeatedly accused of being used to monitor foreign journalists, activists and political leaders worldwide.
Apartheid Israel field-tests its tools of repression against Indigenous Palestinians and then exports them to criminal regimes worldwide.@NSOgroup's #Pegasus spyware is used to target activists & journalists globally.#MilitaryEmbargo now!https://t.co/n6D3bEY40I
— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) November 1, 2021
“An NSO spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment,” Reuters noted, adding that “Contact information for Candiru was not available.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
