Building housing the Israeli cyber company NSO Group, in a photo from Aug. 28, 2016, in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
KSENIA SVETLOVA
12/24/2021
There may or may not be damage to the Startup Nation’s reputation, and significant change to export regulations is not expected
The year 2021 was not a good one for NSO Group, an Israeli technology firm that became famous, and then notorious, for its Pegasus spyware, capable of remote surveillance of smartphones.
Once a promising startup that developed a unique tool to fight against terror and crime, NSO Group is now associated with targeted attacks against journalists and human rights activists, as well as spying on Israeli allies, among them French President Emmanuel Macron as well as top American diplomats in Africa and elsewhere.
The company is now blacklisted by the American government, along with the worst enemies of Israel and the US; its many contracts with tech giants such as Intel were terminated while Apple and WhatsApp took the NSO Group to court for targeting their clients.
Along with NSO, another Israeli firm – Candiru – stands accused of supplying sophisticated spyware to brutal dictatorships that used it to target and persecute critics, civil society activists and journalists.
The heads of NSO Group and similar companies claim they do not bear any responsibility for malign use of their products, just as gun manufacturers are not responsible for murders that might be carried out with their guns. Moreover, every sale they made was approved by Israel’s Ministry of Defense, which closely regulates NSO and other producers of hacking spyware and issues contract-specific export licenses.
The Israeli cybersecurity sector currently generates $10 billion in annual revenue, with “offensive software” – such as Pegasus – accounting for approximately 10% of the sales. Following the backlash from the NSO scandal and especially the US decision to blacklist the firm, Israel promised to narrow the list of countries eligible to purchase such spyware, possibly dropping the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and some other African countries. While the reputational damage to NSO might eventually force the firm out of business, it is also unclear how great the damage is to Israel’s image as the “Startup Nation.”
I really do not think that there will be any negative effect for Israeli high-tech. It’s more of an isolated event.
Arik Segal, technology and innovation adviser at Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, believes that while NSO and others like it will feel the heat, the current storm will not greatly affect the Israeli high-tech sphere.
“I really do not think that there will be any negative effect for Israeli high-tech. It’s more of an isolated event,” he told The Media Line.
“Also, regarding people who work there, I also believe that there will be no shortage of candidates [seeking employment]. In the past, people worked in tobacco or lobbying companies, and now they are working at NSO Group. In terms of branding and Israel’s image – it’s mostly in the eye of the beholder. Israel already has a militaristic image, and people who previously held this view of Israel will probably get a boost in their belief, while those who were unconcerned before will probably not even notice,” Segal said.
Dr. Lev Topor, a senior research fellow at the University of Haifa’s Center for Cyber Law and Policy, shares this point of view. He explains that in Israel and throughout the world there is simply not enough oversight of the cyber industry. “The NSO Group operates in an arena without regulation. There are no international cyber laws, there are no do’s and don’ts,” he said.
Each country decides for itself whether or not to establish laws and regulations in this field. In Israel, the companies are subject to state provisions and regulations, but if NSO or any other company for that matter passes this hurdle, the international market will accept it, Topor told The Media Line.
“Also, in the worst-case scenario, states and other firms could work via a business proxy and cooperate with NSO, bypassing the blacklists of the US or of other countries that might follow suit,” he said.
KSENIA SVETLOVA
12/24/2021
There may or may not be damage to the Startup Nation’s reputation, and significant change to export regulations is not expected
The year 2021 was not a good one for NSO Group, an Israeli technology firm that became famous, and then notorious, for its Pegasus spyware, capable of remote surveillance of smartphones.
Once a promising startup that developed a unique tool to fight against terror and crime, NSO Group is now associated with targeted attacks against journalists and human rights activists, as well as spying on Israeli allies, among them French President Emmanuel Macron as well as top American diplomats in Africa and elsewhere.
The company is now blacklisted by the American government, along with the worst enemies of Israel and the US; its many contracts with tech giants such as Intel were terminated while Apple and WhatsApp took the NSO Group to court for targeting their clients.
Along with NSO, another Israeli firm – Candiru – stands accused of supplying sophisticated spyware to brutal dictatorships that used it to target and persecute critics, civil society activists and journalists.
The heads of NSO Group and similar companies claim they do not bear any responsibility for malign use of their products, just as gun manufacturers are not responsible for murders that might be carried out with their guns. Moreover, every sale they made was approved by Israel’s Ministry of Defense, which closely regulates NSO and other producers of hacking spyware and issues contract-specific export licenses.
The Israeli cybersecurity sector currently generates $10 billion in annual revenue, with “offensive software” – such as Pegasus – accounting for approximately 10% of the sales. Following the backlash from the NSO scandal and especially the US decision to blacklist the firm, Israel promised to narrow the list of countries eligible to purchase such spyware, possibly dropping the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and some other African countries. While the reputational damage to NSO might eventually force the firm out of business, it is also unclear how great the damage is to Israel’s image as the “Startup Nation.”
I really do not think that there will be any negative effect for Israeli high-tech. It’s more of an isolated event.
Arik Segal, technology and innovation adviser at Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, believes that while NSO and others like it will feel the heat, the current storm will not greatly affect the Israeli high-tech sphere.
“I really do not think that there will be any negative effect for Israeli high-tech. It’s more of an isolated event,” he told The Media Line.
“Also, regarding people who work there, I also believe that there will be no shortage of candidates [seeking employment]. In the past, people worked in tobacco or lobbying companies, and now they are working at NSO Group. In terms of branding and Israel’s image – it’s mostly in the eye of the beholder. Israel already has a militaristic image, and people who previously held this view of Israel will probably get a boost in their belief, while those who were unconcerned before will probably not even notice,” Segal said.
Dr. Lev Topor, a senior research fellow at the University of Haifa’s Center for Cyber Law and Policy, shares this point of view. He explains that in Israel and throughout the world there is simply not enough oversight of the cyber industry. “The NSO Group operates in an arena without regulation. There are no international cyber laws, there are no do’s and don’ts,” he said.
Each country decides for itself whether or not to establish laws and regulations in this field. In Israel, the companies are subject to state provisions and regulations, but if NSO or any other company for that matter passes this hurdle, the international market will accept it, Topor told The Media Line.
“Also, in the worst-case scenario, states and other firms could work via a business proxy and cooperate with NSO, bypassing the blacklists of the US or of other countries that might follow suit,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment