Spyware Maker NSO Group Confirms Acquisition by U.S. Investors

NSO Group, the Israeli spyware company, has confirmed to TechCrunch that a U.S. investment group has acquired the company.

Oded Hershowitz, a spokesperson for NSO, told TechCrunch on Friday that "an American investment group has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership." The confirmation follows reports from Israeli tech news site Calcalist, which stated that a group led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds agreed to purchase the controversial surveillance technology company. However, Hershowitz declined to specify the exact investment amount or the identity of the investors.

"This investment does not mean that the company is moving out of Israeli regulatory or operational control," Hershowitz clarified. "The company's headquarters and core operations remain in Israel. It continues to be fully supervised and regulated by the relevant Israeli authorities, including the Ministry of Defense and the Israeli regulatory framework."

Despite Hershowitz's comments, he later declared them "off the record," which typically requires both parties to agree to terms in advance. However, TechCrunch is publishing the responses as no such agreement was made.

A Long History of Controversy

NSO Group has been at the centre of multiple controversies over the years. Reports from Citizen Lab, Amnesty International, and other digital rights groups have documented numerous cases where NSO's spyware was used to target journalists, dissidents, and human rights defenders in countries including Hungary, India, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Although NSO has long claimed that its spyware is designed to avoid targeting U.S. phone numbers, the company was caught in 2021 targeting several U.S. government officials abroad. This led the U.S. Commerce Department to place NSO on the U.S. Entities List, effectively barring American companies from trading with the spyware maker.

Since then, NSO has sought to remove itself from the U.S. government's blocklist, even working with a lobbying firm tied to the Trump administration to reverse the ban.

Concerns Over U.S. Ownership

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, expressed concerns over the acquisition. He warned, "NSO is a company with a long history of going against American interests and supporting the hacking of American officials. In what world can such a person be trusted to properly oversee a company like NSO Group?" Scott-Railton was particularly alarmed by the potential implications of the acquisition, citing NSO's previous attempts to enter the U.S. market and sell its spyware to American police forces.

"Dictator tech does not belong anywhere near Americans, or our constitutionally protected rights or freedoms," he added.

A History of Ownership Changes

NSO Group's ownership has changed hands multiple times. Initially founded by Niv Karmi, Shalev Hulio, and Omri Lavie, the company was acquired in 2014 by U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners. In 2019, Lavie and Hulio retook control with the help of European private equity firm Novalpina. By 2021, the California-based Berkeley Research Group took over management of the company. In 2023, Lavie regained majority control of NSO.