The Battle for the World's Most Powerful Cyberweapon [Ed's Comment: If paywalled try https://archive.fo/cbnUR]
In June 2019, three Israeli computer engineers arrived at a New Jersey building used by the F.B.I. They unpacked dozens of computer servers, arranging them on tall racks in an isolated room. As they set up the equipment, the engineers made a series of calls to their bosses in Herzliya, a Tel Aviv suburb, at the headquarters for NSO Group, the world's most notorious maker of spyware. Then, with their equipment in place, they began testing.
The F.B.I. had bought a version of Pegasus, NSO's premier spying tool. For nearly a decade, the Israeli firm had been selling its surveillance software on a subscription basis to law-enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world, promising that it could do what no one else — not a private company, not even a state intelligence service — could do: consistently and reliably crack the encrypted communications of any iPhone or Android smartphone.
[...] As part of their training, F.B.I. employees bought new smartphones at local stores and set them up with dummy accounts, using SIM cards from other countries — Pegasus was designed to be unable to hack into American numbers. Then the Pegasus engineers, as they had in previous demonstrations around the world, opened their interface, entered the number of the phone and began an attack.
[...] Ever since the 2013 revelations by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, about U.S. government surveillance of American citizens, few debates in this country have been more fraught than those over the proper scope of domestic spying. Questions about the balance between privacy and security took on new urgency with the parallel development of smartphones and spyware that could be used to scoop up the terabytes of information those phones generate every day. Israel, wary of angering Americans by abetting the efforts of other countries to spy on the United States, had required NSO to program Pegasus so it was incapable of targeting U.S. numbers. This prevented its foreign clients from spying on Americans. But it also prevented Americans from spying on Americans.
NSO had recently offered the F.B.I. a workaround. During a presentation to officials in Washington, the company demonstrated a new system, called Phantom, that could hack any number in the United States that the F.B.I. decided to target. Israel had granted a special license to NSO, one that permitted its Phantom system to attack U.S. numbers. The license allowed for only one type of client: U.S. government agencies. A slick brochure put together for potential customers by NSO's U.S. subsidiary, first published by Vice, says that Phantom allows American law enforcement and spy agencies to get intelligence "by extracting and monitoring crucial data from mobile devices." It is an "independent solution" that requires no cooperation from AT&T, Verizon, Apple or Google. The system, it says, will "turn your target's smartphone into an intelligence gold mine."
[...] The discussions at the Justice Department and the F.B.I. continued until last summer, when the F.B.I. finally decided not to deploy the NSO weapons. It was around this time that a consortium of news organizations called Forbidden Stories brought forward new revelations about NSO cyberweapons and their use against journalists and political dissidents. The Pegasus system currently lies dormant at the facility in New Jersey.
[...] In November, the United States announced what appeared — at least to those who knew about its previous dealings — to be a complete about-face on NSO. The Commerce Department was adding the Israeli firm to its "entity list" for activities "contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States." The list, originally designed to prevent U.S. companies from selling to nations or other entities that might be in the business of manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, had in recent years come to include several cyberweapons companies. NSO could no longer buy critical supplies from American firms.
Previously on SN:
- FBI Admits it Acquired NSO's Pegasus Spyware in 2019
- Researchers Call NSO Zero-Click iPhone Exploit "Incredible and Terrifying"
- American Diplomats' iPhones Reportedly Compromised by NSO Group Intrusion Software
- Apple Sues NSO Group for Providing Software to Hack iPhones
- U.S. Places Sanctions on NSO Group, Peddler of Pegasus Spyware
Related Stories
The U.S. Blacklists Makers of Cops' Favorite iPhone Hacking Tool:
NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm whose spyware has been peddled to authoritarian governments around the world, has been sanctioned by the U.S. Commerce Department. The new restrictions, which the agency announced in a press release Wednesday, will limit the degree to which American companies can provide parts or services to NSO—a decision that could seriously hobble the vendor's business.
NSO is best known for its commercial malware "Pegasus," a product that can infiltrate smartphones and silently pilfer their contents—from text messages to voice calls to photos. The company also sells a creepy "zero-click" exploit, the likes of which apparently requires no phishing and is said to take advantage of security flaws inherent in iPhones and Android devices to compromise them. In September, it was reported that some 1.65 billion Apple devices had been vulnerable to NSO's malware for a period of several months.
See also: US Cuts Off Pegasus Developer: What You Need To Know About This Spyware
Previously: Israeli Firm NSO Linked to WhatsApp Hack, Faces Lawsuit Backed by Amnesty International
Saudi Crown Prince's WhatsApp Account Reportedly Used to Hack Jeff Bezos
The Great iPwn -- Journalists Hacked with Suspected NSO Group iMessage 'Zero-Click' Exploit
Israeli Spyware Maker Is in Spotlight Amid Reports of Wide Abuses
Apple sues company known for hacking iPhones on behalf of governments
Apple on Tuesday sued NSO Group, an Israeli firm that sells software to government agencies and law enforcement that enables them to hack iPhones and read the data on them, including messages and other communications:
Earlier this year, Amnesty International said it discovered recent-model iPhones belonging to journalists and human rights lawyers that had been infected with NSO Group malware called Pegasus.
Apple is seeking a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using Apple software, services, or devices. It's also seeking damages over $75,000.
[...] NSO Group software permits "attacks, including from sovereign governments that pay hundreds of millions of dollars to target and attack a tiny fraction of users with information of particular interest to NSO's customers," Apple said in the lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of California, saying that it is not "ordinary consumer malware."
Also at The Guardian.
American diplomats' iPhones reportedly compromised by NSO Group intrusion software:
The Apple iPhones of at least nine US State Department officials were compromised by an unidentified entity using NSO Group's Pegasus spyware, according to a report published Friday by Reuters.
NSO Group in an email to The Register said it has blocked an unnamed customers' access to its system upon receiving an inquiry about the incident but has yet to confirm whether its software was involved.
"Once the inquiry was received, and before any investigation under our compliance policy, we have decided to immediately terminate relevant customers' access to the system, due to the severity of the allegations," an NSO spokesperson told The Register in an email. "To this point, we haven't received any information nor the phone numbers, nor any indication that NSO's tools were used in this case."
[...] The Israel-based company, recently sanctioned by the US for allegedly offering its intrusion software to repressive regimes and sued by both Apple and Meta's (Facebook's) WhatsApp for allegedly supporting the hacking their customers, says that it will cooperate with any relevant government authority and pass on what it learns from its investigation of the incident.
[...] The spyware company insisted it is unaware of the targets designated by customers using its software.
Researchers call NSO zero-click iPhone exploit 'incredible and terrifying':
Google researchers have described NSO Group's zero-click exploit used to hack Apple devices as "incredible and terrifying," Wired has reported. Project Zero researchers called it "one of the most technically sophisticated exploits we've ever seen" that's on par with attacks from elite nation-state spies.
The Project Zero team said it obtained one of NSO's Pegasus exploits from Citizen Lab, which managed to capture it via a targeted Saudi activist. It also worked with Apple's Security Engineering and Architecture (SEAR) group on the technical analysis.
NSO's original exploit required the user to click on a link, but the latest, most sophisticated exploits require no click at all. Called ForcedEntry, it takes advantage of the way iMessage interprets files like GIFs to open a malicious PDF file with no action required from the victim. It does so by using old code from the 1990s used to process text in scanner images.
Also at: Google Warns That NSO Hacking Is On Par With Elite Nation-State Spies:
Despite confirming its purchase, the bureau claims Pegasus was never used in any FBI investigation:
According to the report, the deal struck between the FBI and NSO was a one-year test project worth around $5 million. Despite "not using it at all... like, not even switching it on," according to a source, the FBI renewed the contract for another year, bringing the deal up to $9 million.
The deal was agreed upon following a "long process" of disagreements on how much control NSO Group would retain over its software, a source told The Guardian. The FBI reportedly took issue with NSO's policy of keeping sensors on its technology in order to be alerted if it was moved by a government client and to keep track of its physical location.
In addition, the bureau was reportedly wary of allowing NSO engineers to install Pegasus on FBI computers, instead agreeing to keep the spyware in a large container.
The FBI stated it bought access to NSO's spyware in order to "stay abreast of emerging technologies and tradecraft."
Previously on SN:
- Researchers Call NSO Zero-Click iPhone Exploit "Incredible and Terrifying"
- American Diplomats' iPhones Reportedly Compromised by NSO Group Intrusion Software
- Apple Sues NSO Group for Providing Software to Hack iPhones
- U.S. Places Sanctions on NSO Group, Peddler of Pegasus Spyware
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @06:06AM (4 children)
Due to excessive bad posting from this IP or Subnet, comment posting has temporarily been disabled. If it's you, consider this a chance to sit in the timeout corner. If it's someone else, this is a chance to hunt them down. If you think this is unfair, please email admin@soylentnews.org with your MD5'd IPID and SubnetID, which are "8a88f2aaae146a745431fb671d97b3d2" and "ab775e9002ccf25a4c8ac828aae8f4a6".
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @06:16AM (3 children)
They know where Runaway lives! Run away, Runaway! Grab that bug-out bag, and just do! Hide in the woods and live off squirrel brains!
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @06:40AM (2 children)
The most powerful cyberweapon, is the one that could silence the aristarchus! SoylentNews thinks they have achieved this. But, there is a concept in the Intelligence Community that is called "blowback". Kind of like introducing LSD to fight Communism, and causing a whole shitload of Hippies.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @08:22AM
It really is depressing once you figure out how badly The Elite have fucked up efficiency. Shit man, they literally made a business out of disposable packaging and promoted it so much that we've literally polluted our own environment. Water? Food? They contain plastic. Jesus Fucking Christ, capitalism is literally the worst thing to happen to humanity because it elevated "profit" over reality. Don't like the scientist saying the packaging business is destroying the environment and will have incalculable effects on humanity's future? FIRE THEM!
No joke, I regularly ponder suicide for the following reasons in order of importance:
1. Not subjecting myself to the dystopian reality we have created, because yes like every other human I'm quite self-centered.
2. Saving the planet the small burden my existence as a modern human necessitates.
3. Sparing myself the mental anguish of hopeless anger with regard to the state of the world. Food, health, education, morality, all four are under siege by greedy and cult-brainwashed assholes.
May you all fare better, but I know I am not alone in my feelings. The wealthy should really think about their impact on the world, their war of despair will result in a nasty future where they and their precious descendants will simply be tomorrow's dinner. The Dark Ages are not good for anyone.
(Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday February 08 2022, @04:43PM
Fear.
Fear will keep the local systems in line.
Fear of this cyberweapon.
I felt a great disturbance in the trolling, as if millions of sock puppets suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something wonderful has happened.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Snotnose on Tuesday February 08 2022, @06:43AM (3 children)
Sure would be nice to be able to read the article I'm supposed to comment on.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @06:46AM
What is your MI-6 Security Clearance Code? What, not even British? Only subjects of Her Majesty allowed to read stuff on SoylentNews, from now on.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by coolgopher on Tuesday February 08 2022, @06:59AM
FWIW, it loaded for me. Try browsing without JavaScript enabled?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @10:08AM
https://archive.fo/cbnUR [archive.fo]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @07:19AM (3 children)
One paranoid (justafiably) redneck hillbilly poster on SN, could bring down a 2400 year old philosopher, with nothing but lies and innuendo! That is some cyberweapon! Of course, the truth is still out there?
(Score: 2, Funny) by khallow on Tuesday February 08 2022, @07:29AM (2 children)
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @08:10AM (1 child)
So you're a moron. Nothing new really, but what a local environment proof to have!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday February 08 2022, @11:56PM
(Score: 4, Insightful) by MIRV888 on Tuesday February 08 2022, @08:13AM (8 children)
The article glaringly omitted the federal government's primary electronic intelligence gathering organization. The FBI is a powerful law enforcement agency, but it's not really in the intel business.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @09:32AM (1 child)
lack budget agencies do not tell you whose equipment they install.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday February 08 2022, @04:46PM
You mean they might install AMD even though the FIB is in the Intel business?
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by RS3 on Tuesday February 08 2022, @09:38AM (4 children)
Maybe they don't want to reveal NSA's capabilities? And/or how much FBI and NSA work together?
(Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday February 08 2022, @04:48PM (3 children)
The NSA works outside the US.
The FIB works inside the US.
There is a strong hardened wall between the two. Made of the strongest tissue paper ever!
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @05:36PM (1 child)
Wrong. The CIA (supposedly) works outside the US. The NSA works everywhere in the world.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday February 08 2022, @06:12PM
Thank you!
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday February 08 2022, @06:03PM
I heard it was toilet paper, but who really knows for sure.
big grin
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @10:11AM
Officially the NSA is not supposed to spy on US citizens. I think the article is about that angle...
Go figure.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 08 2022, @10:36PM
The jew is an open enemy of humanity. It is recommended for a jew to cause harm to humans.
Normal people will not want to be part of a criminal spy network but a jew will happily do it.