"Cyber firm NSO vows to tackle human rights misuse", 10 Sep 2019

NSO Group said...it would abide by U.N. guidelines to prevent rights abuses...Human rights group Amnesty International...was sceptical that NSO’s new policies would make a difference. NSO's...cellphone hacking software, Pegasus, has been linked to political surveillance in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia...NSO said it would from now on systematically apply U.N. procedures...to identify risks that its technology could harm human rights, and then prevent or mitigate them... Danna Ingleton, deputy director of Amnesty Tech [said]:...“NSO is a company that has a history of saying one thing and doing another...The reason why they are doing this is to whitewash violations.” ... She said that NSO and the [whole] industry...needs more accountability and...more due diligence when selling to oppressive regimes so...defenders are not targeted. In May...WhatsApp said a security breach on its app showed signs of coming from a government using surveillance technology developed by a private company, and may have targeted human rights groups...WhatsApp [said] it had some reasons to believe the spyware had been developed by NSO. The firm... did not comment...but said it would investigate any “credible allegations of misuse”....Francisco Partners sold [NSO] seven months ago to NSO managers and...Novalpina Capital...