US govt agency ignored blacklisting of Israel’s NSO to purchase spyware: NYT

ByNews Desk- The Cradle

An unidentified US agency purchased a powerful geolocation spyware that has been used against thousands of targets in Mexico

The US government signed a secret contract for a powerful geolocation tool developed by Israeli surveillance company NSO Group on 8 November 2021, just five days after the White House declared NSO a national security threat and placed the company on a commerce department blacklist, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times (NYT).

The secret contract – which the NYT says remains active – does not specify which federal agency was provided with spyware known as Landmark.

Landmark turns phones into “a kind of homing beacon that allows government operatives to track their targets,” the US outlet highlights, adding that US government officials were given access to a special NSO portal that allows them to type in mobile phone numbers to pinpoint the exact location of the phone “without the phone user’s knowledge or consent.”

Thousands of queries were used in Mexico, according to two sources informed on the matter. The 2021 contract also allows Landmark to target US mobile phone numbers.

Landmark was purchased using a US front company designated as “Cleopatra Holdings” – in reality, a small New Jersey-based government contractor called Riva Networks – which in 2019 was used by the FBI to purchase the infamous Pegasus spyware.

According to the NYT, Riva’s chief executive Robin Gamble used the fake name “Bill Malone” when signing the 2021 contract with NSO.

“We are not aware of this contract, and any use of this product would be highly concerning,” a senior White House is quoted as saying. After publication, the same official told the NYT that the 2021 contract with NSO would violate an executive order signed last week by President Biden to clamp down on government use of commercial spyware.

The company’s Pegasus spyware is alleged to have been deployed by several governments against dissidents, journalists, diplomats, and members of the clergy. Its clients include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco.

An NSO spokesperson told the NYT that the company’s technologies “are only sold to allies of the US and Israel, particularly in Western Europe, and are aligned with the interests of US national security and governmental law enforcement agencies around the world.”

In December, the NYT revealed Washington has been using spyware from various Israeli corporations to hack mobile phones, specifically pointing to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) use of a hacking tool called ‘Graphite,’ which is created by Israeli company Paragon.