It seems that lawsuits from Apple and sanctions from the US Government may be having an effect on everybody’s most hated purveyor of spyware, The NSO Group. Bloomberg reports that the company is now running out of cash and looking for options:
NSO Group Ltd., the scandal-plagued spyware company that’s in danger of defaulting on its debts, is exploring options that include shutting its controversial Pegasus unit and selling the entire company, according to people familiar with the matter.
Talks have been held with several investment funds about moves that include a refinancing or outright sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.
The report claims that Pegasus would be repurposed, from hacking smartphones to protecting them:
The prospective new owners include two American funds that have discussed taking control and closing Pegasus, one of the people said. Under that scenario, the funds would then inject about $200 million in fresh capital to turn the know-how behind Pegasus into strictly defensive cyber security services.
While
While I am happy that The NSO Group is in deep trouble and is on the brink of extinction, a couple of random thoughts come to mind:
- Who would trust these people to secure anything after spending years trying to hack iPhones? The answer is nobody.
- How do we know that the spyware tech that this company created won’t end up in the wild if this company fails? Which means that everyone would be in deep trouble if that ended up to be true.
The best outcome in my mind would be to have someone buy the company, lock up every employee with a strict NDA, and bury the spyware tech. Then prove to governments worldwide that this has happened. That way we are all safe. But I fully expect some other outcome that puts us all at risk. Bu I am free to surprised.