The United States government has been revealed as an active client of the Israeli company NSO Group, which is infamous for its Pegasus spy software. This comes just days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order restricting the use of commercial spy software by US intelligence and other federal agencies.
According to a report by The New York Times, the US government purchased NSO Group’s geolocation software, called “Landmark,” through a New Jersey front company called Cleopatra Holdings. The government contractor Riva Networks actually hides behind the front company. Riva Networks had used the FBI to purchase Pegasus spy software two years earlier.
The US government purchased the geolocation software on November 8, 2021. The revelation is exceptional as it comes just five days after the Biden administration imposed sanctions on NSO Group for misusing Pegasus for years to spy on political dissidents, human rights activists, and journalists. This spy software was also used by governments in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates for political surveillance.
Despite the well-known issue of cooperation with NSO, the government’s signing of the secret contract violates public policy and is still apparently active. The agreement gave the US government access to one of NSO Group’s most powerful weapons – the geolocation tool called Landmark which allows surreptitious tracking of cell phones around the world.
The contract, seen by The New York Times, said the “United States Government” would be the end-user of the tool, although it is unclear which government agency authorized the deal and might be using the spyware. The agreement expressly allowed the government to “test, evaluate and even use the spyware against targets of their choice in Mexico.”
The New York Times also claims that the system was sold to Saudi Arabia and used by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman against dissidents. A Biden administration official told the paper that the White House was not aware of the treaty and that if it existed, it would violate President Biden’s recently issued executive order.
