TITLE: US Firm Acquires Israeli Spyware Maker NSO Amid Political Tensions
American Investors Take Control of Controversial Spyware Firm
An American investment group has acquired controlling ownership of NSO Group, the Israeli company behind the notorious Pegasus spyware, in a deal worth tens of millions of dollars. The transaction comes as the controversial surveillance technology vendor faces multiple lawsuits and a U.S. government blacklist, raising questions about the timing and implications of putting powerful hacking tools in American hands during a period of heightened political tension.
Israeli financial outlet Calcalist first reported the acquisition, noting the investor group is led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds. The deal requires approval from Israel’s Defense Export Control Agency but is expected to finalize within days. NSO spokesperson Oded Hershowitz confirmed to TechCrunch that “an American investment group has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership,” while emphasizing the company would remain under Israeli regulatory oversight.
NSO’s Troubled History and Legal Battles
The acquisition caps a disastrous decade for NSO Group, which has faced mounting legal challenges and international condemnation over its spyware’s use against journalists, activists, and political opponents. The company’s flagship product, Pegasus, can infiltrate smartphones without user interaction, accessing messages, photos, location data, and even activating microphones and cameras.
Major controversies include:
- 2018: Amnesty International reported its staff had been targeted with NSO malware
- 2019: Facebook (now Meta) sued NSO for exploiting WhatsApp vulnerabilities
- 2021: Apple filed suit and the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted the company
- 2023: A judge found NSO liable in WhatsApp’s lawsuit
Microsoft, Google, Cisco, and Dell later joined the legal actions against NSO, with many arguing that spyware victims should be able to sue the company for privacy violations. The U.S. Commerce Department’s blacklisting prohibits American companies from providing resources to NSO without government approval, creating significant operational challenges.
Previous Acquisition Attempts and Regulatory Hurdles
This isn’t the first time an American firm has attempted to acquire NSO’s powerful surveillance technology. In 2022, defense contractor L3Harris explored purchasing the Israeli spyware maker but abandoned the effort after the Biden administration expressed strong opposition. The administration had previously placed NSO on the Entity List, citing concerns about the company’s tools being used for “transnational repression.”
The current acquisition faces several regulatory hurdles, including approval from Israel’s Defense Export Control Agency. Hershowitz told Gizmodo that despite American ownership, “the company’s headquarters and core operations remain in Israel” and it “continues to be fully supervised and regulated by the relevant Israeli authorities.” This arrangement may help navigate U.S. regulatory concerns while maintaining access to NSO’s technical capabilities.
Timing Raises Concerns About Future Use
The acquisition comes at a politically sensitive moment, with the potential for powerful surveillance tools to fall under American control as political tensions rise. The timing has raised concerns among digital rights advocates about how these capabilities might be deployed domestically or against U.S. political opponents.
NSO’s technology represents some of the most advanced commercial surveillance tools available, capable of bypassing encryption and operating stealthily on target devices. The transfer of this capability to American ownership, even with Israeli regulatory oversight, creates new possibilities for how such tools might be used in the future, particularly given the company’s history of selling to governments accused of human rights abuses.
While the investment provides NSO with much-needed capital and potentially a path forward, it ensures that powerful cyber surveillance capabilities remain operational and available—now under American influence during a period of global democratic challenges and domestic political polarization.
