Apple sued Israeli spyware maker NSO Group on Tuesday for targeting the users of its devices, saying the firm at the center of the Pegasus surveillance scandal needs to be held accountable, The Times of Israel reports.
The suit from the Silicon Valley giant adds new trouble for NSO, which was engulfed in controversy over reports that tens of thousands of activists, journalists and politicians were listed as potential targets of its Pegasus spyware.
The United States Department of Commerce just weeks ago announced it was blacklisting NSO, restricting the Herzliya-based firm’s ties with American companies over allegations that it “enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression.”
“To prevent further abuse and harm to its users, Apple is also seeking a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services, or devices,” Apple said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
“NSO Group creates sophisticated, state-sponsored surveillance technology that allows its highly-targeted spyware to surveil its victims,” it added.
Apple also appeared to point a finger at Israel, with its vice president Craig Federighi saying in a statement that “state-sponsored actors like the NSO Group spend millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technologies without effective accountability. That needs to change.”
Following the initial concern over Pegasus, a subsequent wave of worries emerged when iPhone maker Apple released a fix in September for a weakness that can allow the spyware to infect devices without users even clicking on a malicious message or link.