NSO Group, an Israeli tech firm that created Pegasus spyware, is reportedly undergoing financial troubles.
According to the latest report, the company is planning to shut down the whole organization amid pressure from tech giants in the United States.
Upon learning that NSO Group is currently struggling financially, the two US-based companies grew interested in transforming the notorious organization’s vision.
The two investment funds claimed that they would change the “offensive” mission of the firm to a “defensive” one after the American authorities blacklisted it.
Primarily, the known fact about this Israel-based firm is that it only sells its Pegasus to the governments. Specifically, the group only offers this service to countries with “extremely” poor human rights records.
Since the US government noticed the activities of the NSO Group, the authorities launched a thorough investigation on it to know its motive. They even called the group a “national security risk.” As a result, they imposed a complete ban for the sale and import of the Pegasus spyware, according to a report by iMore on Wednesday, Dec. 15.
Following this notion, Apple filed a lawsuit against NSO over its privacy breach for iPhone users. According to the Cupertino firm, the Pegasus spyware has compromised some of its smartphones upon checking.
NSO is Experiencing Financial Struggle
In another report from 9to5Mac, the controversial spyware company is now planning to close because of its financial trouble. According to the people who know the situation, NSO Group could potentially sell all of its properties to another firm.
The anonymous persons who leaked this information have mentioned that various investment funds in the US are now negotiating talks with the Pegasus spyware company. At the time of writing, the sources chose not to be named because the announcement was not yet published.
In addition, these companies aim to redirect Pegasus’s purpose where the spyware could be used to protect smartphones instead of hacking them. This discussion will include $200 million capital that will transform NSO’s product into a “defensive cyber security service.”
Should We Immediately Believe in Pegasus Rebranding?
According to The Next Web, there’s a lot of skepticism that surrounds the transformation of NSO’s spyware. According to the report, it’s still hard to trust a product that was once used to deliver malicious activities.
Moreover, Citizen Labs’ Ronald Deibert said that people should be cautious about the rebranding of Pegasus.
“Warning: don’t believe the hype about “defensive” products. Who’d trust that company with defense? Watch out for corporate rebranding too,” Deibert, the director of the Canadian research company said.
At the peak of the emergence of Pegasus spyware in July, Tech Times explained that this virus works by gaining access to the user’s smartphone. The actor behind this threat could easily browse over your private messages and pictures, as well as your applications and other confidential information.
Joseph Henry, Tech Times
