JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel’s Justice Ministry says it has found “no indication” that police illegally used powerful spyware technology to hack into citizens’ phones.
Israel’s attorney general ordered the probe last month after a report from Calcalist accused the police of using the technology to spy on dozens of public figures including politicians, journalists, activists and even one of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sons.
Calcalist reported that police used the controversial “Pegasus” spyware produced by the Israeli company NSO Group. The company’s signature Pegasus software works by secretly installing itself on a device without any knowledge or action from the user. Security researchers say Pegasus then transforms the iPhone into a silent spying device with full access to the user’s data, messages, microphone and camera. NSO Group says the technology is used to fight crime and terrorism, but that it cannot reveal who its clients are.
The Calcalist report sparked a public outcry and united politicians across the political spectrum who feared that police were abusing their power.
However, the Justice Ministry’s probe, spearheaded by Israel’s deputy attorney general, did not find evidence to support Calcalist’s claims.
“There is no indication that police deployed Pegasus software without a court order against people on the list published in the media,” the ministry said, adding that NSO Group and government security experts helped with the probe.
The investigation found that police were given permission to hack into the phones of three people on the Calcalist list, but they only succeeded at breaking into one device. The ministry also said its investigators looked into police use of another unnamed spyware technology and found no evidence of abuse.
The Justice Ministry statement said the investigation into the matter will continue and expand to include people who weren’t named in the Calcalist report.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said the Justice Ministry’s investigation is a “resounding acquittal for the Israel Police and for those in uniform.”
Calcalist responded to the investigation saying that the results “require serious consideration and reexamination of the findings and allegations we published.” The newspaper says it is investigating the issue and “when we finish it, we will not hesitate to correct as much as necessary.”
For years, NSO Group has been at the center of numerous scandals.
CBN News previously reported on an investigation published last July by an international alliance of media outlets that alleged the software was abused by governments to spy on journalists, political dissidents, and human rights activists.
The internet watchdog Citizen Lab has identified alleged abuse of the spyware against journalists and human rights activists in countries ranging from Mexico to Saudi Arabia. The technology was also identified on the phones of US State Department employees in Uganda, British lawyers and a Polish senator who led the opposition’s 2019 parliamentary campaign.
In November, Citizen Lab said it found Pegasus software on the phones of six Palestinian human rights activists affiliated with groups that Israel has claimed are involved in terrorism.
The Biden administration banned the technology from American devices and blacklisted NSO Group for developing and supplying “spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers,” according to a US Commerce Department statement.
Apple and Facebook are currently suing the Israeli company for allegedly targeting users with its sophisticated spyware.
NSO Group has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.
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