The US in recent years has put many Chinese companies in its entity list, which is essentially a trade ban list. Probably the most high profile addition was Huawei from all the way back in 2019. But now, NSO Group, which is an Israeli company, has been added to the list as well.
This follows allegations that NSO Group has sold its software to authoritarian governments that have used its spyware to keep tabs on activists and journalists. Back in December 2020, reports indicated that iPhones of 37 Al-Jazeera journalists were targets of cyber-attacks. It also allegedly led to the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A number of US tech giants including Google, Microsoft and Meta, the parent of Facebook, have also filed lawsuits against the company.
According to the BBC, NSO Group was “dismayed” by the decision, saying that its tech helped maintain US national security. It also maintains that its tech is only sold to military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies from countries with good human rights records.
Another Israeli company called Candiru, as well as one from Russia and Singapore, were also added to the entity list. All three were, like NSO Group, also companies that make spyware. The US State Department said it will not be taking action against the countries themselves.
(Source: BBC)
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