US government officials, particularly Department of State personnel in Uganda recently had their iPhones hacked using spyware developed by NSO Group. It’s the widest-known US official hack using NSO tools.
NSO group is a surveillance tech company based in Israel. At least nine US Department of State employees had their iPhones hacked, with the intent and origins still unknown. NSO Group released a statement, saying that they were not aware of the hack but they’re working on investigating the matter.
Furthermore, an NSO spokesperson said that if the hacker used NSO’s tools, their account will be permanently terminated and charged with legal actions.
The Pegasus software has been used to surveil human rights activists and journalists. Several times the spyware utilizes zero day vulnerabilities in iMessage and other Apple tech. Apple recently filed a lawsuit versus NSO Group to prevent the Israeli company from using Apple devices, services and software.