abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Story

19 Feb 2019

Novalpina Capital buys spyware co. NSO Group, commits to greater transparency but rights groups call out unaddressed issues

On the 14th of February 2019 it became public that US private equity fund Francisco Partners had sold the Israeli cyber intelligence company NSO Group to its Israeli co-founders. The founders and management team were supported in the acquisition by the private equity firm Novalpina Capital.

On the 15th of February, Novalpina Capital sent a letter to Citizen Lab, a Canadian interdisciplinary research laboratory, which to date published 11 reports detailing how NSO’s spyware was being used to spy on human rights defenders, among others. In the letter, the company said that the concerns that had been raised by Citizen Lab were one of the factors they examined prior to the deal, that they had conducted extensive due dilligence and that they were satisfied that NSO operated with integrity and caution. They said they were committed to helping NSO become more transparent about its business. In response, Citizen Lab asked that, as a first step, Novalpina Capital provided answers to several questions regarding their and NSO’s human rights due diligence and corporate social responsibility practices. On the 19th of February, a number of leading civil society organizations wrote to Novalpina Capital, asking it to respond to 9 specific points of concern. Novalpina Capital did not respond directly to the letter, but commented on it in an article.

The three letters and the article are available below. On 18th of June 2019, Novalpina Capital promised a “significant enhancement of respect for human rights” at NSO Group. In September 2019, NSO group developed a human rights policy, vowing to abide by UN Guiding Principles, but human rights watchdogs reacted with scepticism.

Company Responses

Novalpina Capital View Response

Timeline

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.