Israeli government authorities on Wednesday inspected the office of the spyware company NSO Group.
The Israeli Defense Ministry on Wednesday said that government officials met with representatives of the NSO Group. The Defense Ministry regulates all military exports, including cybersecurity products, and private companies like NSO must receive approval to do business abroad.
“Representatives of several bodies visited the office of NSO in order to assess the allegations raised in regards to the company,” the ministry said.
But some international and local Israeli media called it a "raid." The NSO Group later clarified that it was just a "visit" not a "raid".
"We can confirm that representatives from the Israeli Ministry of Defense visited our offices. We welcome their inspection," NSO Group officials told Vice.com.
NSO said it is “working in full transparency with the Israeli authorities.”
“We are confident that this inspection will prove the facts are as declared repeatedly by the company against the false allegations made against us in the recent media attacks,” it added.
Last week, an international media consortium had reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers, including of two ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders, besides scores of businesspersons and activists in India, could have been targeted for hacking through the Pegasus spyware of the Israeli firm NSO.
The alleged use of the Pegasus software to spy on politicians, journalists, human rights defenders and others in many countries, including India, has triggered concerns over issues relating to privacy.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
