In a new development in the Pegasus Project, reports that the Israeli government authorities have raided the offices of NSO Group have surfaced. This comes after a time of increased diplomatic pressure on Israel, considering the NSO Group is an Israel based surveillance firm and has been linked to the Israeli Govt as reported by media outlets part of the Pegasus Project.
The alleged raids took place Wednesday after which, an NSO spokesperson confirmed to Israeli news outlet called The Record that “representatives from the Israeli Ministry of Defence had visited their offices”.
“The company is working in full transparency with the Israeli authorities. We are confident that this inspection will prove the facts are as declared repeatedly by the company against the false allegations made against us in the recent media attacks,” the spokesperson added.
While early media reports described the incident as a raid, it is important to note that the company had stated that authorities had “visited” rather than raided its premises. As reported by the Guardian, the company has also mentioned that it had been informed in advance that defense ministry officials in charge of over seeing cyber exports would be conducting an inspection.
The Pegasus Project has revealed how the NSO’s Pegasus spyware was used by multiple governments around the world to snoop on public figures and opposition leaders among others. The Indian government has denied allegations of snooping and unauthorized surveillance. It has also called the report “sensational”, stating that it is an attempt “to malign Indian democracy and its well-established institutions”. The leaked lists however, show how a number of Indian journalists, opposition politicians, activists and lawyers have had the spyware software planted on their phones.
Read: Pegasus Project: Open Letter to CJI Cites Privacy of Women as a Key Concern to be Addressed
