L3 Technologies, a U.S. government contractor that sells aerospace and defense technology, has emerged as a suitor for Israeli exploit merchant NSO Group.
According to a published report, the New York-based L3 Technologies is the “leading candidate” to acquire NSO Group, the controversial company that has been blacklisted by the U.S. government and sued by multiple big-tech companies.
L3 previously acquired Azimuth Security and LinchPin Labs, two companies that operate in the shadowy business of supplying exploit and spying tools to governments.
In recent years, NSO Group’s flagship Pegasus spyware tool has been used to break into phones of human rights activists, journalists and activists around the world.
[ READ: NSO Pegasus Zero-Click ‘Most Technically Sophisticated Exploit Ever Seen’ ]
As previously reported, Pegasus infiltrates phones to vacuum up personal and location data and surreptitiously controls the smartphone’s microphones and cameras. Researchers have found several examples of NSO Group tools using so-called “zero click” exploits that infect targeted mobile phones without any user interaction.
Tech giants Facebook and Apple are currently suing NSO Group in U.S. federal court for allegedly targeting WhatsApp users with its spyware and for abusing access to Apple’s products and services.
Apple’s lawsuit is seeking to hold NSO Group accountable for hacking into Apple’s iOS mobile platform with so-called zero-click exploits to spy on researchers, journalists, activists, dissidents, academics, and government officials.
Related: NSO Pegasus Zero-Click ‘Most Technically Sophisticated Exploit Ever Seen’
Related: Apple Slaps Lawsuit on NSO Group Over Pegasus iOS Exploitation
Related: US Puts New Controls on Israeli Spyware Company NSO Group
Related: Spyware Find Highlights Depth of Hacker-for-Hire Industry
Ryan Naraine is Editor-at-Large at SecurityWeek and host of the popular Security Conversations podcast series. He is a security community engagement expert who has built programs at major global brands, including Intel Corp., Bishop Fox and GReAT. Ryan is a founding-director of the Security Tinkerers non-profit, an advisor to early-stage entrepreneurs, and a regular speaker at security conferences around the world.
More from Ryan Naraine
- VMware Plugs Critical Flaws in Network Monitoring Product
- Keep Aware Raises $2.4M to Eliminate Browser Blind Spots
- OpenAI Unveils Million-Dollar Cybersecurity Grant Program
- Galvanick Banks $10 Million for Industrial XDR Technology
- Microsoft Catches Chinese .Gov Hackers Targeting US Critical Infrastructure
- Researchers Spot APTs Targeting Small Business MSPs
- Mikrotik Belatedly Patches RouterOS Flaw Exploited at Pwn2Own
- Red Hat Pushes New Tools to Secure Software Supply Chain
Latest News
- Barracuda Urges Customers to Replace Hacked Email Security Appliances
- Android’s June 2023 Security Update Patches Exploited Arm GPU Vulnerability
- BBC, British Airways, Novia Scotia Among First Big-Name Victims in Global Supply-Chain Hack
- Sysdig Introduces CNAPP With Realtime CDR
- Stay Focused on What’s Important
- VMware Plugs Critical Flaws in Network Monitoring Product
- Google Patches Third Chrome Zero-Day of 2023
- Hackers Issue ‘Ultimatum’ Over Payroll Data Breach
