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Following the NSO affair: The Ministry of Defense tightens supervision of Israeli cyber companies
After the iPhones of at least 9 U.S. State Department employees were hacked by an anonymous attacker using spyware developed by the NSO Group, an updated wording for the end-user declaration was decided upon, which each country is required to sign as a condition of issuing a cyber export license.
Tags
NSO
United States
Ministry of Defence
Cyber
Amir Bohbot and Barak Ravid
Monday, 06 December 2021, 18:59
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In the video: The offices of the Israeli cyber company NSO (Photo: Reuters)
The Ministry of Defense tightened its supervision of Israeli cyber companies today (Monday) following the case of the hacking into the cell phones of US State Department employees carried out by software from the Israeli company NSO.
A statement from the Defense Export Control Division (AFI) at the Ministry of Defense stated that an updated wording had been decided for an end user declaration that each country is required to sign as a condition of issuing a license to export collectible cyber systems or intelligence systems. The State of Israel's Supervision Policy on the Export of Cyber Systems.
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NSO branch near Sapir (Photo: AP)
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On Friday it was reported that the iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees had been hacked by an anonymous attacker, using spyware developed by the NSO group.
The break-ins, which have taken place in recent months, have hit, among others, U.S. officials in Uganda.
This, against the background of the lawsuit about ten days ago by "Apple" in a federal court, which requires the NSO to own or use any device, service or software made by it, to protect the privacy of its users.
"If our investigation shows that these actions did take place with our tools, the engagement with such a client will end permanently and we will take legal action," an NSO spokesman said, adding that NSO will also "cooperate with any relevant government authority and present the full information we have."
The break-ins hit U.S. officials in Uganda, among others (Photo: ShutterStock)
The ministry said in a statement that "the move joins a series of actions taken in recent years to control the export of cyber systems, in which the State of Israel allows exports only to government officials and for investigation and prevention of terrorism and serious crime."
It was further stated that the updated statement implements the policy of the Ministry of Defense to restrict the final permitted use of cyber systems. As part of this, an acquiring country undertakes to restrict the use of the cyber system for the investigation and prevention of terrorist acts and serious crimes only. "At the same time, definitions for serious crimes and terrorist acts have been sharpened, in order to prevent blurring of boundaries in this context," the statement said.
The updated statement states that terrorist acts are, among other things, acts designed to threaten a population and may result in death, injury, hostage-taking and more.
In addition, the updated statement clarifies the circumstances in which the operation of the cyber system is prohibited and explicitly clarifies the existence of the possibility of imposing sanctions in the event of a breach of the provisions, including limiting or disconnecting the cyber system.
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