FBI Admits Buying Israeli Hacking Tool, But Says They’d Never Do Anything Wrong

NSO’s Pegasus spyware can take over smartphones without the victim needing to interact with links or malicious files, and once infected, the attackers can control the camera, the microphone, and use pretty much everything the phone can do to spy on people.

The FBI says it bought a limited license of the spyware for research purposes.

The Guardian:

The FBI has confirmed that it obtained NSO Group’s powerful Pegasus spyware, suggesting that it bought access to the Israeli surveillance tool to “stay abreast of emerging technologies and tradecraft”.

In a statement released to the Guardian, the bureau said it had procured a “limited licence” to access Pegasus for “product testing and evaluation only”, and suggested that its evaluation of the tool partly related to security concerns if the spyware fell into the “wrong hands”.

The bureau also claimed it had never used Pegasus in support of any FBI investigation. “There was no operational use in support of any investigation, the FBI procured a limited licence for product testing and evaluation only,” it said.

The statement marks a direct acknowledgment by the FBI that it acquired Pegasus, one of the world’s most sophisticated hacking tools.

The FBI’s procurement of Pegasus, which occurred in 2019 under the Trump administration, was first reported by the New York Times.

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NSO has categorically denied that its Pegasus spyware can be used against US mobile phones.

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NSO has also said it does not have information about how its clients use its spyware or who its clients target.

Yeah, sure.

Do keep in mind that with these things, it’s never really only about the security of your own devices but also about the security of the devices you get near to. Even if you don’t have a single technological gadget on you, the compromised smartphones and computers of people near you can be used to spy on you.

The Internet of Things was always about creating an inescapable control grid to account for everything people do and say.

You know how Facebook collects data on people who don’t have an account? The control grid is intended to work like that. Even if you stay away from smartphones and use a computer without internet access, if you live inside the grid, you’re getting spied on.

Related: Russian Orthodox Church Leader Patriarch Kirill Warns Smartphones Forebode Coming of Antichrist