US blacklists makers of spyware bought by Martinelli

The US Department of Commerce announced Wednesday that it added NSO Group, the Israeli company that makes the Pegasus software to its list of companies that pose a threat to national security.

The Ricardo Martinelli administration bought the Pegasus system during his last two years in office and used it to spy on 150 political opponents, judges, businessmen, and journalists. Trainers from the NSO Group were brought to Panama and lodged at the Mirimar Hotel

Investigations published by a consortium of 17 international media outlets revealed that Pegasus had allegedly allowed spying on the numbers of journalists, politicians, activists, or business leaders from various countries.

Pegasus-infected phones basically become pocket spy gadgets. They allow the user to read the messages of the affected person, look at their photos, know their location, and even turn on the camera without their knowing it.

“These tools have allowed foreign governments to apply transnational repression, which is the practice of authoritarian governments to follow dissidents, journalists and activists outside their borders to silence dissent,” the Commerce Department said in a statement.

Washington also included the Israeli company Candiru, the Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE (COSEINC) of Singapore, and the Russian firm Positive Technologies on the list.

The addition of these companies implies that the exports they could receive from US organizations are restricted. For example, it is now much more difficult for US parties to sell information or technology to them.

For its part, the Israeli group said on Wednesday it was “dismayed” by the US decision to include it on its blacklist of companies that threaten national security.

“The NSO Group is dismayed by the decision” of the United States and “will work to ensure that this decision is modified,” a spokesman for the company based on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, which claims to have a “Rigorous ethical charter based on American values.”