Tech giant Apple has filed a lawsuit against Israeli spyware company NSO Group and its parent company Q Cyber in the San Jose Court in California. Apple said that the suit is to hold NSO accountable for the surveillance and targeting of Apple users and to prevent further abuse and harm to its users, Apple is also seeking a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services, or devices. Apple is joining Facebook, which is already conducting a lawsuit against NSO in the US.
Apple SVP software engineering Craig Federighi said, "State-sponsored actors like the NSO Group spend millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technologies without effective accountability. That needs to change. Apple devices are the most secure consumer hardware on the market - but private companies developing state-sponsored spyware have become even more dangerous. While these cybersecurity threats only impact a very small number of our customers, we take any attack on our users very seriously, and we’re constantly working to strengthen the security and privacy protections in iOS to keep all our users safe."
Apple’s lawsuit explains that NSO Group’s FORCEDENTRY exploited a now-patched vulnerability, previously used to break into a victim’s Apple device and install the latest version of NSO Group’s spyware product Pegasus. The exploit was originally identified by the Citizen Lab, a research group at the University of Toronto.
Apple added that the spyware was used to attack a small number of Apple users worldwide with dangerous malware and spyware. Apple’s lawsuit seeks to ban NSO Group from further harming individuals by using Apple’s products and services. The lawsuit also seeks redress for NSO Group’s flagrant violations of US federal and state law, arising out of its efforts to target and attack Apple and its users.
Apple said it would be contributing $10 million, as well as any damages from the lawsuit, to organizations pursuing cyber-surveillance research and advocacy.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 24, 2021.
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