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The Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group has been accused of selling sophisticated digital surveillance technology to Saudi Arabia and other countries that are suspected of using it to attack dissidents and journalists.
It's also very profitable.
Becky Peterson this week lifted the lid on the secretive startup, revealing NSO Group's profits and customer breakdown for the first time, and shining a light on a web of more than a dozen similar startups in Israel, many of which operate in secret, that sell attacks against routers, computers, smart speakers, and other digital devices.
As she reports:
These companies often describe their wares as "lawful interception" or "intelligence" tools, though this hardly tells the full story. They all sell tools that take devices and turn them against their users to secretly spy without leaving a trace.
Whatever you call this technology, business is booming. Governments and law-enforcement agencies around the world are paying millions of dollars. And startups both inside of Israel and out are ready to sell.
You can also read about how Becky got inside the NSO Group and the offensive cyber world in this Q&A.
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