Advanced spyware developed by the Israeli technology company NSO Group was discovered on the iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees.
According to Reuters, these phones have been hacked in the past few months, targeting U.S. officials in Uganda or dealing with issues related to the country. Reuters first reported the news and cited four people familiar with the matter. The source of the news.
The report stated that NSO Group has no evidence that its tools were used, but it plans to investigate. The company stated that its system does not apply to mobile phones registered with U.S. numbers starting with the +1 country code. However, it is reported that the employee phone number targeted in this case was registered with a foreign number.
The U.S. State Department is working to determine who has access to the materials on these phones and how the violations occurred, CNN Report.
It has been a month since the U.S. Department of Commerce blacklisted Israeli companies, including NSO Group, because they “engaged in activities that violate the interests of U.S. national security or foreign policy.” In late November, Apple sued NSO Group and its parent company Q Cyber, demanding that it be responsible for the monitoring and positioning of Apple users.
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