Pegasus-pusher NSO gets new owner keen on the commercial spyware biz

Spyware maker NSO Group has a new ringleader, as the notorious biz seeks to revamp its image amid new reports that the company's Pegasus malware is targeting yet more human rights advocates and journalists. Once installed on a victim's device, Pegasus can, among other things, secretly snoop on that person's calls, messages, …

[Anonymous Coward]

meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

The shady creeps that aren't still part of the new venture probably took a copy of the code, and the remainder will shuffle along under and increasing heap of shell companies, probably after renaming itself again.

Clearly the remedies for these clowns need to be stronger, garlic and holy water next? Clearly not enough sunlight hitting them to get the job done.

[Furious Reg reader John]

Re: meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

I'll give you the benefit of doubt on this and assume you don't know you are making an antisemitic comment about the owners of an Israeli company.

https://antisemitism.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Antisemitic-imagery-May-2020.pdf

Check Page 11

It's amazing how any story about NSO makes people accidentally make antisemitic comments, but other stories about commercial spyware never seem to prompt a similar response.

[IGotOut]

Re: meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

@furious....

What a load of bollocks.

If your desperately looking to offended, or be offended on someone else's behalf, then just go outside and look at a brick wall and find that offensive, because I don't know, it was built facing west or something.

There is CLEARLY no antisemitism in that post, but you have gone out your way to be offended by it.

I think pretty much EVERYONE else will see the comments as a vampire company that despite being killed is still preying on its victims

[Furious Reg reader John]

Re: meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

A couple of recent stories:

https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2023/05/27/predator_analysis_talos/

https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2023/05/26/wyden_ita_spyware_policy/

Look at the comments. No imagery of evil, nightmarish beings invoked. Yet in this story about NSO, the very first comment starts to make imagery of evil, nightmarish beings. That same imagery has been used to portray Jews as evil. Other stories about NSO get comments about nuking the NSO office and wiping the surrounding areas of Israel off the face of the earth. For others, comments start comparing NSO to Nazis.

But, hey, I'm just desperately looking to be offended, so I must be making it all up. Maybe it's OK that stories about NSO cause people to make comments that have also been used in antisemitic ways, while other commercial spyware stories don't. Maybe you think antisemitism (prejudice against Jews for those who wish to deliberately misunderstand what the word means) isn't a problem, and therefore can be safely ignored, but as I don't care if you think antisemitism is OK, I'll still call it out when I see it.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

>For others, comments start comparing NSO to Nazis.

Really rather the opposite don't you think ? NSO's expertise is in breaking other people's 'unbreakable' wireless encryption.

[IGotOut]

Re: meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

Yup. Read those comments,and yet again nothing anti semantic in them

It's a sad scenario that you try to spin this as some racial /. religious dogma to fill your agenda

They could be from England, The USA and Botswana for all I care, they are scumbags only motivated by profit with fuck all morals.

And have a look at all the comments about the NSA, GCHQ or the FSB.

Are those any semantic? No? Why? Ah not based in Israel

You're one of those people that as soon as someone criticizes the Israeli government or a Israeli company,scream " anti sematic", rather than dealing with the real issue, in this case, being low lives that have put journalists, political activists in serious risk of harm or detention.

But as they are Israeli, I guess we should suck it up to not offend people.

It's this kind of political ass kissing that allowed the mass child abuse in Bradford to happen

I will call out these cunts no matter what religion, race or location they sre and if people get offended, the go shove their head back in the middle ages where they belong.

[Furious Reg reader John]

Re: meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

"Read those comments,and yet again nothing anti semantic in them" - it is a shame that you are either wilfully misunderstanding, or possibly too stupid to understand that's the point - the other stories don't gather any comment that could be construed as antisemitic.

Yet the very first comment on this story, about an Israeli company, makes use of imagery that has been used to further antisemitic conspiracies.

It's the context that makes it antisemitic.

The use of potentially antisemitic comments obviously wouldn't be antisemitic if Israel wasn't involved, but no such comments appear when Israel isn't involved! What is it about a commentator that makes them use potentially antisemitic comments only in stories about Israel? Given the context, it probably isn't accidental and is due to antisemitic bias.

"as soon as someone criticizes the Israeli government or a Israeli company,scream " anti sematic"" - criticism of Israel/Israelis is not antisemitic. However, criticising Israel/Israelis differently than you do other countries or other people is antisemitic. The "low lives that have put journalists, political activists in serious risk of harm or detention" are not NSO, yet there is no criticism of the countries that are misusing the product - to you, it is the Israeli company that is "the real issue".

Neither challenging (what I'm doing), or ignoring/promoting (not totally sure which one of these two options you are doing) antisemitism leads to "mass child abuse in Bradford". By including this tangential comment in your latest ramble makes me think you are not just an antisemite, but are probably a racist in general.

Given the rampant antisemitism of the time, the Middle Ages is the last place Jews would want to be, especially not Israeli Jews working in a very 21st Century industry.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

Not sure how that was antisemitic, garlic and holy water doesn't work on Israelis.

An antisemitic statement would be that the company should have been bought by Sawzall as a natural synergy - remember the Saudis are Semitic people with a Semitic language

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: meet the new bagholder, same as the old bagholder

Although mixing the garlic and holy water with chick peas and tahini would definitely attract Israelis. Probably not kosher if you use holy water though.

[jfw25]

"The lenders are currently in a process of restructuring the shareholders."

Is that what the intelligence services are calling it these days?

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: "The lenders are currently in a process of restructuring the shareholders."

Its more of a concern when the intelligence agency customers are restructuring journalists

[Anonymous Coward]

If it wasn't for

If it wasn't for so many governments dirty underside using all their tools, NSO would be classified as a terrorist threat.

But,,,

[Claptrap314]

I keep beating this horse...

NSO is an arms manufacturer. They need to be regulated/treated the same as any other.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: I keep beating this horse...

You mean be given free government money launch aid, export-credit guarantees, allowed to bribe customers and have their friends in government threaten any country that doesn't agree to buy the product ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I keep beating this horse...

soooo, that same as it is right now then....