Wikipedia photo, Flash 90 / Jonathan Zindel
Ukraine is angry that Israel is not allowing the country access to NSO’s Pegasus spyware, the Washington Post and the Guardian reported today (Wednesday) after what they call a “joint investigation.”
According to Ukrainian sources who spoke to the newspapers, the country is trying to gain access to the infamous spyware from Israel at least since 2019 – but the latter refuses to allow the NSO to sell the software for the first time, for fear of a Russian reaction.
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The newspapers point out that according to their sources, the Israeli government imposes two levels of supervision on the NSO: first the government must authorize the company to present its product to a government or foreign entity, and then it must separately approve the sale to that country or entity. A senior intelligence official told the newspapers that Israel’s refusal to approve the sale of the software to the country currently led by Vladimir Zlansky left him “confused.” He even estimated that the United States itself tried to pressure Israel to approve the sale of the software to the country, but failed.
According to the report, Ukraine is not the first country to find itself a “victim” of the close relations between Israel and Russia at the expense of the rest of the world: In August 2019, according to sources, NSO informed Estonia, a member of NATO, Israel has declared that the Russian interest is paramount for it, to the point of actively protecting it from espionage – protection granted, other than Russia, exclusively to the United States and Britain.
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As you may recall, the Ukrainians have been visiting Israel since the Russian invasion, a month ago, demonstratively, because it is one of the only Western countries that does not impose sanctions on Russia and does not agree to sell weapons to Ukraine – even defensive weapons, such as Iron Dome missiles. On Sunday, President Zalansky addressed members of the Knesset and said, “We ask why we do not receive weapons from you, why you did not impose sanctions on Russia and Russian businesses. You will have to give answers (about that), and be able to live with those answers.”
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Change Mikhail Fedorov said in response to the report that “the Israeli government is not currently participating in any discussion or assistance regarding defense technology, but we are in ongoing talks with many Israeli companies in the market and are at various stages.” However, he added, “We have enough ability to keep winning and we are adding new tools, including rising tools, every day.”
NSO said “NSO is still subject to inaccurate media reports regarding alleged customers, based on rumors, political allusions and lies.”
The Ministry of Defense stated that “The State of Israel supervises the marketing and export of cyber products in accordance with the Defense Export Control Law passed in 2007. Policy decisions regarding exports take into account security and strategy considerations, including compliance with international arrangements. As part of its policy, the State of Israel approves exports of cyber products “Only for government entities, for legal use, and only for the purpose of preventing and investigating crime and the war on terror, under declarations of use provided by the purchasing government.”
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