NSO Group is considering closing the unit responsible for Pegasus due to the financial crisis

Israeli surveillance technology developer NSO Group is considering closing the unit responsible for Pegasus or even selling the entire company due to a serious financial crisis it is going through, according to newspaper reports.

Specialized tool for financial information Bloomberg Recently, there have been several talks with investment funds about company bailouts, including refinancing or a total sale.

Among the companies that will attend the operation are Moellis & Co. And law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, among potential buyers, are two US investment funds that have proposed buying the company, taking control of its operations, and shutting down the Pegasus unit. .

Under this agreement, the money will inject about $200 million and change the company’s focus on developing cybersecurity services solely for defense and possibly drones, a source close to the operation explained.

This news was released just days after it was revealed that nine officials of the US government’s State Department, based in Africa and on US soil and operating in Uganda, were targeted by the Pegasus malware.

In addition, in November the US Department of Commerce included the NSO Group in its so-called list of entities with malicious cyber activity. This tool seeks to restrict and impede the business activities of the entities and becomes a clear message from the US government to all those governments and entities that seek to do business with listed companies.

The US government is not the only one taking steps to reduce the scope of businesses such as the NSO Group, as well as the uncontrolled sale and use of surveillance technology around the world; The Israeli Ministry of Defense has significantly reduced the number of countries to which technology can be sold and transferred – from 102 to 37. This means that Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Morocco or the United Arab Emirates can no longer obtain this technology from companies located in Israel.

The decision came after the press disclosure of the Pegasus project, which showed the extent of human rights violations committed through the harmful use of Pegasus in dozens of countries around the world, in addition to Apple’s announcement of filing a lawsuit against the company on charges of committing an illegal violation. Use their devices to attack users.