Tech giant Apple is suing Israel’s NSO Group as it seeks to block the ‘hacker-for-hire’ spyware company from breaking into products such as the iPhone.
Apple said NSO’s software, called Pegasus, was used to attack a small number of its customers worldwide.
In a complaint filed in court in California yesterday, it said NSO employees ‘have created highly sophisticated cyber-surveillance machinery that invites routine and flagrant abuse’.
Hacking threat: Apple said NSO’s software, called Pegasus, was used to attack a small number of its customers worldwide
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice-president of software engineering, said the Israeli firm ‘spends millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technologies without effective accountability’.
NSO denied all wrongdoing. It claimed that the products it produces have been used to combat terrorism, crime and piracy.
Recently, US Commerce Department placed this firm on blacklist. Facebook is also suing the company for allegedly intruding via encrypted WhatsApp messaging.
Software can be used to control microphones and cameras, as well as access location and personal information. NSO didn’t respond to inquiries for comment.