Israel lays down law on cyber exports after Pegasus spy scandal
- Foreign states seeking a cyber or intelligence system must use it only to combat terrorism and ‘serious crimes’, a state agency said
- The Pegasus spyware developed by private firm NSO Group had sparked major privacy concerns as it essentially turned smartphones into pocket spying devices
Israel laid down the law Monday on the use by foreign governments of its cyber exports, after the private Israeli developer of Pegasus spyware became engulfed in scandal abroad.
The defence ministry-linked agency for military exports, in a statement, specified that a foreign state seeking a cyber or intelligence system must only use it to combat terrorism and “serious crimes”.
Smartphones infected with Pegasus spyware developed by the private Israeli firm NSO Group are essentially turned into pocket spying devices.
This allows the user to read the target’s messages, look through their photos, track their location and even turn on their camera without them knowing.
US authorities last month blacklisted NSO by restricting exports to it from American groups over allegations the Israeli firm “enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression”.
An updated Israeli end user certificate issued Monday, to be signed by buyers, listed terrorism as including offences committed with the aim of “seriously intimidating a population” or “unduly compelling a government” through crimes such as hostage taking and potentially fatal attacks upon a person’s life.