Even though commercial spyware is illegal, an FBI contractor tracked cellphones in Mexico by using NSO products.
An investigation conducted by The New York Times earlier this year revealed that the US government utilized spyware developed by the Israeli hacking firm NSO. Following an FBI investigation into who was using the technology, the department has discovered a perplexing answer: itself, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Given NSO’s reputation for shady tools such as Pegasus, which allow governments to download personal information from hacked phones without the user’s knowledge, the Biden administration has taken steps since 2021 toward severing ties with the company. Even after the president signed an executive order prohibiting commercial spyware in March, an FBI contractor tracked the locations of targets in Mexico using NSO’s geolocation product, Landmark.
The Times reports that the FBI contracted Riva Networks to track Mexican drug smugglers. Due to security flaws in the country’s cellphone networks, the spyware enabled US officials to monitor mobile phones.
While the FBI claims that Riva Networks misled it into using the technology and that it has since terminated the contract, people with direct knowledge of the situation claim that the FBI used spyware as recently as this year.
The FBI has previously encountered NSO and its spyware tools. Before the executive order banning government use of the products, the agency considered using Pegasus for criminal investigations. Spyware gained a negative reputation for its service to spy on citizens and repress political dissent, with NSO being one of the largest companies in the industry.
