Isreal Limits it’s Cyber Exports

Israel has quietly reduced the number of countries to which its companies may sell hacking tools and spyware amid ongoing criticism from its allies over how those technologies are being used.

These restrictions follow the US Department of Commerce’s addition of two Israeli companies, NSO Group and Candiru, to the Entity List. Being put on that list makes it far more difficult for those companies to access technologies and products created by US entities.

A latest report says Israeli companies are now restricted to selling cyberweapons to democratic countries throughout Europe, members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, nearly 65 countries will be out of the list.

The Commerce Department says it acted “based on evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers.”

A consortium of organizations led by Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International published a series of reports on the company’s Pegasus spyware.

Apple recently sued NSO Group in hopes of banning it from using its products again. It’s also seeking damages, which it says will be donated to “to organizations pursuing cybersurveillance research and advocacy.”

Israel hasn’t said why it issued these restrictions on cyberweapons exports, but between the US government’s sanctions and a lawsuit filed by one of the world’s richest companies, it’s not hard to guess why the country suddenly decided to bring its security industry to heel.