Israeli company NSO Group, developer of the infamous Pegasus spyware , recently came under the control of American investors. A company spokesperson announced that the new funding amounts to tens of millions of dollars and confirmed the transfer of a controlling stake.
According to Calcalist, Hollywood producer Robert Simonds, who had previously attempted to acquire the company, played a key role in the deal. Details regarding the investor group and the exact amount of the deal were not disclosed.
NSO emphasizes that the agreement does not affect jurisdiction or oversight: the company’s headquarters will remain in Israel and it will continue to be subject to local regulatory authorities, including the Ministry of Defense.
However, Calcalist notes that co-founder and chairman of the board, Omri Lavie (the company’s co-founder), will be leaving the company as part of a management reshuffle . Neither he nor the investor group had commented at the time of publication.
Previous attempts by Symonds and his business partner to acquire NSO through their own investment vehicle have failed. This acquisition comes amid an ongoing campaign against Pegasus, which has become a symbol of the abuses of digital surveillance.
Organizations such as Citizen Lab and Amnesty International have been documenting cases of surveillance of journalists, human rights activists, and opposition figures using this software for years. The attacks have targeted citizens in Hungary, India, Morocco, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries.
In 2021, it was revealed that NSO had used Pegasus to hack the devices of US government employees abroad. The US Department of Commerce subsequently added the company to the Entity List, banning US companies from doing business with it . Since then, NSO has made every effort to have the sanctions lifted, including through lobbyists associated with the previous Trump administration.
According to John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, Symonds’ involvement raises concerns. He cited NSO’s attempts to enter the US market and offer its technology to local police departments, despite conflicts with US legal regulations. Scott-Railton argues that handing over control to someone unrelated to human rights protections could increase the risk of Pegasus being used against civil society again.
NSO has a troubled history of ownership: founded by a group of three entrepreneurs, the company was acquired by the American investment firm Francisco Partners in 2014. In 2019, Lavie and his partner regained control with the participation of the European fund Novalpina , and asset management was subsequently transferred to a California-based consultancy group.
For the past two years, Lavie remained the majority shareholder, until he relinquished his position as part of a new deal.
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