After reports of attempts to purchase spyware from NSO By the FBI, a pair of Republican lawmakers are pressuring the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide information about the plans and tests they carried out with the Israeli offensive cyber company’s tool. Pegasus, tried it and decided not to purchase it in the end.
“Now, according to letters received by CNBC, Jim Jordan, a member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, and Mike Johnson, a member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, have contacted the FBI to provide information about this engagement.” The commission is examining the FBI’s acquisition, investigation and use of NSO spyware, and the civilian consequences of using a pegasus or phantom against U.S. personnel, “it said.
A letter to FBI Director Christopher Ray states that the acquisition of the spy was found to be a “deeply disturbing move that poses a significant risk to the civil liberties of U.S. citizens.” In the letter, lawmakers are asking the FBI to hand over the links between the agency to NSO or its subsidiaries.
Concurrent with this letter, lawmakers also decided to contact tech giant Apple, asking company CEO Tim Cook to provide details on Apple’s capabilities to identify an iPhone that has become the target of NSO’s spyware. At the same time, lawmakers are asking Apple to report contacts with government agencies about the various spyware.
Apple, the FBI and NSO have decided not to comment on a CNBC report.