Apple has filed a lawsuit against the Israeli group NSO, holding it responsible for circumventing the iPhone's security mechanisms to monitor Apple users through its Pegasus spyware.
NSO Group's Pegasus spyware came to light in early July this year, when Amnesty International revealed that it was being used to spy on journalists and human rights activists around the world.
This was followed by a new revelation from Citizen Lab cybersecurity threat researchers who found evidence of the iPhone 12 Pro surveillance of nine Bahraini activists, thanks to an exploit that escaped the latest iOS 14 security protections known as BlastDoor.
“State sponsored gamers like the NSO Group are spending millions of dollars on sophisticated surveillance technology without effective accountability. This has to change, ”said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering.
Cyber surveillance investigation
Citizen Lab had accused the NSO Group of using two clickless iMessage exploits, including a new BlastDoor exploit that the researchers dubbed FORCEDENTRY. Apple says it has shared new information about this now-fixed exploit in its legal complaint.
In its statement, Apple praised the efforts of groups like Citizen Lab and Amnesty Tech "for their pioneering work to identify cyber surveillance abuses and help protect victims."
Apple has decided to provide technical, threat intelligence and engineering support to Citizen Lab researchers free of charge, and has promised to offer the same assistance to other organizations doing critical work in this space.
In fact, the company has gone on to pay € 10 million, along with any damages awarded in the lawsuit, to support organizations involved in the defense and investigation of cyber surveillance abuse.
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