“Don’t believe newspapers,” says NSO Group CEO Shalev Hulio when asked about his role in selling NSO Group spyware to Saudi Arabia (Image: CBS 60 Minutes). Carmi left the company years ago but the name remained. Le groupe y a investi 1,8 million de dolla… The world’s most notorious surveillance company says it wants to clean up its act. Shalev Hulio, co-founder and CEO of NSO, says his industry is full of companies trying to avoid scrutiny. Intelligence is a shitty business full of ethical dilemmas.”. Questions a lot of companies really don’t care about. NSO does not do business with Qatar because Israel prohibits it. Who needs to approve each target? Although it is facing the high-profile WhatsApp lawsuit and dozens of allegations of abuse of Pegasus, Hulio insists the company is evolving. Shalev Hulio is currently Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at NSO Group. Son ancien président du bureau dirigeant était le général en retraite Avigdor Ben-Gal, ancien responsable d'Israel Aircraft Industries dans les années 19901. I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth herein and, except as otherwise When I ask him if the industry is taking enough steps toward transparency and accountability, he shakes his head and points a finger at his competitors: “Actually, I think it’s the other way around. Those countries need global mechanisms of regulation.". Instead, he shared it with experts. But before complaining about the company's methods, Facebook seems to … ... NSO’s CEO Shalev Hulio has categorically denied it. אס. Over the years, it has operated a confusing network of other companies around the world, and this corporate maze has made it nearly impossible to understand its dealings and actions—a crucial task when hacking tools can be abused by authoritarian governments with devastating consequences. The market is growing, but we lack a lot of information about abuses.”. The fact that he’s talking to journalists at all is one obvious change, he says, and so are the new self-governance policies and a public commitment to adhere to the United Nations Human Rights Guidelines. “They’re opening companies in countries where you don’t have regulation mechanisms, in Latin America, Europe, the Asia Pacific region—where regulation is very weak, so you can export to countries that you cannot export to from Israel or other places in Europe,” he explains. “Each [spyware] company should be much more accountable for who they sell to, who are the customers, what is the end use for each customer.”, “The pitch from hacking companies is that criminals and terrorists are going dark because of encryption and states need an ability to chase them down their dark hole,” says John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab. Shalev Hulio, el israelí señalado por medio mundo como el responsable del hackeo a decenas de teléfonos celulares de figuras importantes, es el CEO de NSO Group… The lawyer is not a bad person—and I’m not saying we were involved. It’s what NSO Group, an eight-year old, controversial Israeli hacking outfit, believes to be a real world trade-off, one that its founder Shalev Hulio defended on the 60 Minutes television show this past Sunday. The business he leads, NSO Group, is the world’s most notorious spyware company. NSO Group CEO Shalev Hulio Claim that Facebook tried to buy a Pegasus Spyware to monitor better their users especially access to the Apple user’s data and their activities.. Pegasus is a powerful commercial spyware developed by Israel based spyware maker NSO group, also known as Q cyber technologies.. In 2014, Francisco Partners Management, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, acquired controlling stake in the NSO Group for $120 million. The Israeli-headquartered company has been linked to high-profile incidents including the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and spying against politicians in Spain. Shalev Hulio, the CEO of NSO Group, said earlier this year that his company only sells its products to government agencies. I see companies trying to hide activity and hide what they’re doing. Researchers say it was a sophisticated phishing lure sent by a government; it contained a link that, if clicked, would have taken over Mansoor’s phone with spyware. “Chapo ran away from prison,” Hulio says. This, he says, is the most important thing the industry can do now: “We’ve been accused, with good reason, of not being transparent enough.”. “It created lots of bad things for us, because every time we were accused of abuse, we had no comment.”. Shalev Hulio. קבוצת אן. A significant number of employees will participate in the acquisition. Mansoor, who had already been targeted by surveillance for many years, was suspicious and didn’t click the poisoned link. El cofundador y CEO de NSO, Shalev Hulio, considera que ha llegado el momento de dar explicaciones. But these days the hacking industry is increasingly using more advanced techniques that keep their activities as unobtrusive as possible—including so-called “zero-click” techniques that infect targets without their taking any action at all. Or through mechanisms like building research and development in one site, sales cycle to a different company, deployment through a third company, so you cannot trace who is doing what.”, "Just like there are countries that act as tax shelters, there are countries that act as export regulation shelters. The revelation led to a great deal of scrutiny of the company, but NSO remained silent. “People like Chapo or [ISIS leader Omar Bakr] al-Baghdadi don’t carry smartphones. Back then, NSO marketed itself as a state-of-the-art cyberwarfare firm. NSO Group Technologies (NSO standing for Niv, Shalev and Omri, names of company's founders) is an Israeli technology firm known for its Pegasus spyware enabling the remote surveillance of smartphones. I truly think it’s very hard to do something international. Much of the criticism directed at NSO Group comes when researchers say Pegasus is used against lawyers, human rights activists, journalists, and politicians. Pegasus has been linked to political surveillance in Mexico, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to the University of Toronto's Citizen … We’ve gone full circle, arriving back in a thick tangle of secrecy. Formerly a search-and-rescue commander in Israel’s military and then an entrepreneur focused on technology that remotely accessed smartphones, Hulio has said he founded NSO Group in 2010 at the urging of European intelligence agencies. When Chapo escaped, they thought he probably eventually will call his lawyer, so let’s try to intercept the lawyer. It was founded by two Israelis — Shalev Hulio and Omri Lavie. More often than not, Hulio says, the customer will say that the allegations against it are true, the targeting is real—but that their actions were legal under local law and the contract they signed. Experts at Citizen Lab, a research group at the University of Toronto, analyzed the link and pointed to Pegasus, NSO’s flagship product. Ten years after founding the company, he made the rare decision to speak about NSO Group, the intelligence industry, and what transparency could look like for spyware companies. So what would accountability look like? How much the talk translates to reality is still an open question: three days after the company announced a new human rights policy in 2019, researchers from Amnesty International say, Pegasus was used to hack Moroccan journalist Omar Radi. It subsequently opened a marketing and sales arm in the United States. Targets in Morocco have reportedly experienced “network injection” hacks that raise no alarm, require no cooperation from the victim, and leave little trace. When NSO Group first appeared, the Wassenaar Arrangement, a crucial arms export control agreement between 42 countries, had no cyber dimension. Go on, we’re listening. Shalev Hulio Co-Founder & CEO, NSO Group . Shalev Hulio. “People don’t understand how intelligence works,” Hulio tells me over a video call from Tel Aviv. Because of this, it’s almost impossible for us to get visibility of the scale of the problem. The acquisition is led by NSO Group co-founders Shalev Hulio and Omri Lavie, together with members of the company’s senior executive team. He is a specialist in cyber security, big data, market analyses and sales. They will sell it because it’s good money for them.”. The NSO Group has made a fresh bid in an American appeals court to get WhatsApp’s lawsuit against it dismissed. The lawyer by himself is not a suspect of criminal activity, but El Chapo, who is a criminal, is going to call his lawyer, and the only way to catch him is to intercept his lawyer.”. But Hulio suggests that his rivals are dodging transparency and accountability by moving their businesses or finding havens to operate from. Although it has never confirmed it publicly, NSO Group has privately touted its role in the operation for years. the CEO co-founder Defendant NSO Group Technologies Limited(“NSO”). [2] [3] [4] It reportedly employed almost 500 people as of 2017, and is based in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. Shalev is also one of the founders of Founder Group a private investment firm that invest in early stage startups. ). NSO Group has denied the accusations. La société a débuté financée par un groupe d'investisseurs menés par Eddy Shalev, un partenaire dans le fonds d'investissement Genesis Partners. “No interviews—we couldn’t talk to journalists except to say no comment, no comment, no comment,” he says. He is a specialist in cyber security, big data, market analyses and sales. “There are loopholes,” Hulio says. 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl got scripted spin and unsubstantiated denials when she confronted NSO Group’s CEO Shalev Hulio and co-president Tami Shachar with cases of abuse drawn from the evidence-based research of … Normalmente, el silencio y el secretismo son características al inherentes al negocio del espionaje. It’s not just WhatsApp. Lately, though, he’s speaking up. Both of them are on the company’s board. Ms Tech | Source: AP Photo/Daniella Cheslow, File, the world’s most notorious spyware company, Inside NSO, Israel’s billion-dollar spyware giant, SS7 as a delivery for zero-click vulnerabilities, How an authoritarian regime will intercept all internet traffic inside its country. For nine full years, Hulio never talked publicly about his billion-dollar hacking company—even when his hacking tools were linked to scandal or he was accused of being complicit in human rights abuses around the world. “Increasingly, at the high end, companies selling these techniques are the ones going dark. Shalev, is the Co-founder and CEO of NSO Group. WhatsApp is suing NSO Group for hacking the app to silently infect phones. That response was partly a function of the company’s ownership at the time. In fact, the text sent to Mansoor proved to be a blessing in disguise for investigators. NSO claims its activities are limited to licensing software to government law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and that it does not operate the technology. Israeli media have reported on company’s links to shell companies and byzantine deals. Hulio says that often NSO is accused of work that other spyware companies are responsible for. “The industry should be more transparent,” Hulio says. Specializes in cyber security, market analysis and sales. He points to events surrounding the capture in 2014 of the Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The software is described by NSO co-founder Shalev Hulio in suitably mythic terms. We can only guess at scale. What is the process you use? Those countries need global mechanisms of regulation.”. Defendant Q Cyber (“Q and, collectively with NSO, “Defendants”)is NSO’ssole director and majority 2. “I see companies trying to hide activity by changing the name of the company over and over again. Now the techniques and indicators investigators have long relied on as clues are becoming rarer, quieter, and more difficult to spot. Founded several tech companies in Media, Telecom & cyber industries, invested in numerous companies in a variety of stages. NSO Group nació en 2010 en Herzliya, una ciudad de 93.000 habitantes situada cerca de Tel Aviv. Perhaps surprisingly, Hulio agrees emphatically that the hacking industry is going dark. עם הקמתה גייסה החברה סכום … Shalev Hulio, co-founder and CEO of NSO Group, speaks with correspondent Lesley Stahl. It entered the global spotlight in 2016 when Ahmed Mansoor, a human rights activist in the United Arab Emirates, received what’s been called the most famous text message of all time. By contrast, Hulio claims, NSO is trying to reverse course under its new ownership. What’s the target? CEO of NSO Group Shalev Hulio showcases Eclipse at Bloomfield Stadium, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 8, 2020. Credit: AMMAR AWAD/ REUTERS. “I have no problem sitting in front of the minister of defense of a country, or the head of police, or of the secret service, and asking: What is the use? When such allegations are made, NSO begins an investigation. “We ask very tough questions when we sell a system, but I’m not sure everyone is doing that,” he says. “Each company should be much more accountable for who they sell to, who are the customers, what is the end use for each customer.”. ... Pegasus is a malware that NSO Group … He is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has founded several hi-tech companies in the fields of Media, Telecom, and Cyber. Il est dit que les fondateurs sont des anciens membres de l'unité 8200, l'unité de renseignement israélienne responsable du Renseignement d'origine électromagnétique4. Lesley Stahl: It's been reported that you yourself went to Riyadh in … NSO Group – sued by Facebook for developing Pegasus spyware that targeted WhatsApp users – this week claimed Facebook tried to license the very same surveillance software to snoop on its own social-media addicts. It’s at the center of a booming international industry in which high-tech firms find software vulnerabilities, develop exploits, and sell malware to governments. What are the investigations? All rights reserved. They have a deal—they want to sell. Money is flowing, abuses keep happening, and the hacking tools are proliferating: no one disputes that. היסטוריה. We’ve seen sales of vulnerabilities against iMessage, [telephone software] SS7 as a delivery for zero-click vulnerabilities, and a lot of network injection. That leaves it up to NSO and the customer to hash out whether the targeting is indeed legitimate. It’s damaging the industry.”. At NSO Group, Shalev Hulio has 6 colleagues including Shiri Dolev (Co-President), Yuval Barkan (Technology)… NSO Group cofounders Shalev Hulio and Omri Lavie, August 27, 2016. Er ist Mitgründer und Mitinhaber der israelischen NSO Group Technologies, einer Firma die im Bereich Cybersicherheit aktiv ist und Malware und weitere Methoden für Cyber-Angriffe auf Smartphones anbietet.. How Russian hackers infiltrated the US government for months without being spotted, The coming war on the hidden algorithms that trap people in poverty, Facebook is now officially too powerful, says the US government. I am acitizen andresident ofIsrael. What is the law in your specific country—how does it work? It has a North American wing called Westbridge. Co-Founder of Founders Group, serial entrepreneur and investor. NSO founder denies its phone hacking software was used to track Khashoggi In rare interview, Shalev Hulio says Pegasus only utilized to apprehend … We only know some players. “Not all countries are part of the Wassenaar agreement. Israel had no cyber export law. It was founded in 2010 by Niv Carmi, Omri Lavie, and Shalev Hulio. Shalev, is the Co-founder and CEO of NSO Group. This, he says, was a mistake to be avoided in the future by companies like NSO—which last year was sold for $1 billion to the European private equity firm Novalpina and the original founders, including Hulio himself. What are the ingredients of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine? Obviously international is a great idea, but just like there are countries that act as tax shelters, there are countries that act as export regulation shelters. El cofundador y CEO de NSO, Shalev Hulio, considera que ha llegado el momento de dar explicaciones. If accounts conflict, NSO can demand logs that reveal targets. But using it properly and proportionately will not compromise privacy and can really save lives,” said Shalev Hulio, founder and CEO of the NSO Group. Facebook's WhatsApp is in the midst of a lawsuit against Israeli mobile surveillance outfit NSO Group. It’s not pleasant. 28 NSO’s I, Shalev Hulio, declare as follows: 1. But who is accountable when brutal authoritarians get their hands on cutting-edge spyware to use against opponents? Concordia is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. The stealthy new arsenal makes it extraordinarily difficult to hold hacking companies and intelligence agencies accountable when human rights abuses occur. NSO denies WhatsApp’s allegations and, on April 4, 2020, it filed a motion to dismiss the case, which was accompanied by a declaration by NSO CEO Shalev Hulio. Normally, silence and secrecy are inherent in the spy business. The man who built a spyware empire says it’s time to come out of the shadows. Murderous drug lord, extreme police action, front-page mugshots. NSO Group was started in 2010 by three friends - Shalev Hulio, Omri Lavie and Niv Carmi in Israel as a cyber intelligence firm. “It’s not easy. It was never an easy job to understand the full scope of the hacker-for-hire industry. What is the mission? He is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has founded several hi-tech companies in the fields of Media, Telecom, and Cyber. Now Israel’s Ministry of Defense is governed by the country’s Defense Export Control Law—NSO Group has reportedly never been denied an export license—but on a global scale, the hacking industry remains largely hidden, opaque, and unaccountable despite its growing power and capabilities. It’s the kind of case that’s easy to make. How do you analyze the data? טכנולוגיות הוקמה בשנת 2010 על ידי היזמים עמרי לביא, שלו חוליו וניב כרמי שקראו אותה על שמם: Omri‏ Shalev‏ Niv‏ (NSO). או. That may be true, but NSO Group itself goes by a string of other names, including Q Cyber Technologies in Israel and OSY Technologies in Luxembourg. The industry is going away from regulation. Shalev Hulio, co-founder and CEO of NSO, says his industry is full of companies trying to avoid scrutiny. NSO Group is a technology company that was founded in Herzliya, Israel in 2010 by Niv Carmi, Shalev Hulio, and Omri Lavie. NSO Group CEO Shalev Hulio said in the filings that he “was not aware of any contract between NSO and QuadraNet.” The filing is just the latest effort in the ongoing legal battle between WhatsApp and NSO Group over whether NSO Group allegedly used WhatsApp to surveil users in the spring of 2019. The founders and management team are supported in the acquisition by Novalpina Capital, a European private equity firm. NSO Group was founded in 2009 by Niv Carmi, Omri Lavie, and Shalev Hulio – their names form the initials NSO. Its employees are spread out internationally. According to intelligence obtained by Haaretz, in the past few years NSO has signed contracts with Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Ras Al-Khaimah. (Mansoor is currently serving a decade-long prison sentence for insulting the monarchy—a dictator’s description of his work to further human rights.). He served and continue to volunteer to his reserve duty as a Major in the IDF search and Rescue unit and has been involved in a number of search and rescue operations in both Israel and abroad (Brazil, Mexico etc. But most allegations of misuse don’t resemble the El Chapo case. An already shadowy world is getting darker, and answers are becoming harder to come by. In 2014, NSO had been bought for around $100 million by the American private equity firm Francisco Partners, which had a strict no-press policy that Hulio says led to a harmful culture of silence. Gulf nations have repeatedly been accused of using Pegasus to target political opposition, resulting later in trumped-up charges for offending royal families or the like. Dozens of abuses by users of NSO’s technology have been alleged since the Mansoor incident first pointed a spotlight at the company. Normalmente, el silencio y el secretismo son características al inherentes al negocio del espionaje. But Hulio says the context can justify such actions—that these people can be legitimate surveillance targets as long as the law is followed. But the judge notes that NSO Group’s court filings thus far, including a declaration from CEO Shalev Hulio, have left some noticeable gaps that don’t dismiss NSO Group’s involvement in … "All sales are authorized by Israel's Defense Ministry and … Shalev Hulio (* um 1979 in Haifa) ist ein israelischer Unternehmer. NSO, Israeli firm that built spyware Pegasus, testing corona tracker “The use of technology in a medical context to monitor the spread of the coronavirus raises concerns about privacy.