greater transparency from its government about
any “relationships with NSO and other cyber-
mercenaries” and should know if its government
“believes the use of these tools against
Americans is legal.”
People hacked with Pegasus have included
Uganda-based U.S. diplomats, Mexican and
Saudi journalists, leading members of Poland’s
opposition, the ex-wife of Dubai’s ruler and her
British lawyers, Palestinian human rights activists
and Finnish diplomats.
NSO does not identify its clients but says it sells
its products only to state security agencies upon
approval of Israel’s Defense Ministry. It says
the products are intended to be used against
criminals and terrorists.
The key parts of the FBI statement issued
Wednesday, initially in response to a request
from the Guardian:
“The FBI works diligently to stay abreast of
emerging technologies and tradecraft — not
just to explore a potential legal use but also to
combat crime and to protect both the American
people and our civil liberties. That means we
routinely identify, evaluate, and test technical
solutions and services for a variety of reasons,
including possible operational and security
concerns they might pose in the wrong hands.
“The FBI procured a limited license for
product testing and evaluation only, there
was no operational use in support of any
investigation. Since our testing and evaluation
is complete, and we chose not to proceed
with use of the software, the license is no
longer active. Accordingly, the software is no
longer functional.“