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Denver – NSO group appears to have had enough of the criticisms from several NGOs and media outlets for its alleged role in facilitating spying via its Pegasus program.
The firm released an official press release on Wednesday, stating it would no longer be “responding to media inquiries on this matter.” It also stated the ongoing accusations are part of a “well orchestrated campaign led by Forbidden Stories,” and disseminated by “special interest groups.”
The tech firm said it is in no way affiliated with a list of leaked telephone numbers that groups claim identifies individuals that NSO targeted with its Pegasus program. NSO continues to maintain that any connection between the company and “potential targets is erroneous and false.”
The original purpose for developing the software, NSO said, was to help governments combat criminal and terror organizations around the world.
The press statement emphasizes NSO will continue to provide the service to help “prevent terror attacks, break up pedophilia, sex, and drug-trafficking rings, locate missing and kidnapped children, locate survivors trapped under collapsed buildings, and protect airspace against disruptive penetration by dangerous drones.”
NSO asserts that the firm is solely a technology company and does not maintain control of Pegasus, nor does it “have access to the data” of customers who purchased the software. It also pledges to “investigate any credible misuse of its technologies.”
The alleged victims of the software claim that Pegasus’ advanced nature allows the software to efficiently delete itself from infected technology with little trace of its presence after completing its objective.
Pegasus has come under scrutiny by French media, who have also published unsubstantial allegations asserting that Morocco used the program to eavesdrop on the phone conversations of French President Emmanuel Macron. Morocco continues to strongly deny the accusations.
Some French media organizations have also claimed that “King Mohammed VI and many members of his inner circle” were targets of the malware.
But many in Morocco have dismissed the claims, arguing that such allegations are designed to lend some measure of credibility to the Pegasus project’s story while presenting Morocco as a country where the intelligence community has no qualms about spying on even the Royal Palace and senior government officials.
Morocco has vowed to undertake legal actions against the entities alleging its involvement in Pegasus, directing the Moroccan Judicial Police and Public Prosecutor Office to open an investigation to shed light on the source of the “unfounded accusations.”
