Apple takes legal action against NSO group

This year there was a great outcry in international media coverage. The reason was the spyware Pegasus of the NSO group, which has been used worldwide to spy out and monitor journalists and activists. For this purpose, security gaps in various systems were exploited, and the mobile operating systems iOS and Android were also affected.

That’s one of the reasons Apple has now filed a lawsuit against the NSO group. The group is thus following other companies from Silicon Valley (such as Meta or WhatsApp), the aim being that the manufacturer of the spyware is no longer allowed to use any other devices, software or services from Apple.

Although there are no more attacks with iOS 15 (and newer), Apple has now patched the security gap, but devices that use versions older than iOS 14.8 are still at risk of being targeted.

In order for the spyware to reach the end device, the NSO group created dozens of Apple accounts. A (fixed) bug in iMessage is used to switch off logging on the end device, then the Pegasus spyware is installed and monitored from there on the phone.

In addition to the actual collection of partly sensitive data, the microphone or cameras of the end device can also be accessed at any time. In addition to the extreme interference with the personal rights of the user, Apple also sees a violation of the general terms and conditions. Because the conditions of iCloud and the associated rules also apply to the NSO Group.

In addition to Apple’s lawsuit, the United States added the NSO group to the black list, so business relationships with companies based in the USA are not easily possible for the company. Exceptions are rarely granted, but the question is also which company would like to have business relationships with the espionage company. Hopefully, the uncovered cases will bring one thing: more security and data protection for users around the world.

Via The Verge