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
- OpenSSL Ships Patch for High-Severity Flaws
- Comcast Wants a Slice of the Enterprise Cybersecurity Business
- VMware Confirms Exploit Code Released for Critical vRealize Logging Vulnerabilities
- Gem Security Gets $11 Million Seed Investment for Cloud Incident Response Platform
- Ransomware Leads to Nantucket Public Schools Shutdown
- Sentra Raises $30 Million for DSPM Technology
- Saviynt Raises $205M; Founder Rejoins as CEO
- OpenVEX Spec Adds Clarity to Supply Chain Vulnerability Warnings
Latest News
- Siemens License Manager Vulnerabilities Allow ICS Hacking
- UN Experts: North Korean Hackers Stole Record Virtual Assets
- Russian Admits in US Court to Laundering Money for Ryuk Ransomware Gang
- A Deep Dive Into the Growing GootLoader Threat
- CISA Releases Open Source Recovery Tool for ESXiArgs Ransomware
- Patient Information Compromised in Data Breach at San Diego Healthcare Provider
- Germany Appoints Central Bank IT Chief to Head Cybersecurity
- OpenSSL Ships Patch for High-Severity Flaws
