Gets Israeli Pegasus Testing Limited License, FBI: Not Used For Investigation Operations

Illustrated FBI analysts. (Wikimedia Commons / FBI)

JAKARTA - The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) admitted Wednesday that it acquired and tested a "hacking" device made by Israeli technology company NSO Group, but the agency said it had not used it for any investigation.

Israeli technology company NSO, which makes Pegasus software, has been embroiled in controversy after it was revealed its tools were being misused by governments and other agencies to hack into communications devices such as iPhones.

NSO says its technology is intended to help catch terrorists, pedophiles and high-profile criminals. The company is currently being sued by iPhone maker Apple Inc., for violating its terms and user service agreements. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The FBI obtained a limited license for product testing and evaluation only, no operational use to support any investigation," an FBI spokesman said in a statement. English.

In addition, the FBI added that the license he obtained is currently no longer active.

NSO, which has long kept its client list secret, says it sells its products only to legitimate, pre-verified government clients.

However, security researchers and academics have found that NSO's Pegasus toolkit has been used against political dissidents, journalists and activists.

The FBI's confession came at an awkward time. Just last month the US Center for Counterintelligence and National Security, said in a statement posted to Twitter that software peddled by surveillance firms was "used in a manner that poses a serious counterintelligence and security risk to US personnel and systems."

To note, at the end of last year the United States Department of Commerce put NSO on a black list on human rights issues.

In 2020, Reuters reported the FBI was investigating NSO's role in possible hacks of American residents and companies. The FBI did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the status of the investigation, which Reuters said had been ongoing since at least 2017.