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NSO Group acquired by US investors, appoints Friedman as executive chairman
The Israeli spyware manufacturer NSO Group, known for its controversial Pegasus surveillance software, announced it has been acquired by a consortium of American investors led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman will serve as the company’s executive chairman.
The ownership transition, first revealed in October and finalized recently, marks a turning point for the embattled cybersecurity firm. NSO confirmed that its three Israeli founders, Shalev Hulio, Omri Lavie, and Niv Karmi, no longer hold any stake in the company. The deal, reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars, has eliminated approximately $600 million of debt that had burdened NSO since it was blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2021.
Friedman to lead push for U.S. market reentry
Friedman, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2017 to 2021 under former President Donald Trump, addressed NSO employees at the company’s headquarters in Ramat Hasharon. He emphasized the critical role of NSO’s technology in supporting government efforts to combat terrorism and serious crime.
“NSO’s researchers and engineers represent some of the brightest minds in Israel’s extraordinary high-tech industry,” Friedman stated, as reported by The Times of Israel. “Despite the often unfair scrutiny directed at the company, you continue to work tirelessly to provide advanced technology to those dedicated to protecting the public and saving lives.”
The new leadership’s primary goal is to remove NSO from the U.S. Commerce Department’s blacklist, which has restricted American companies from doing business with NSO without government approval since November 2021. The Biden administration imposed these sanctions after determining that NSO had provided spyware to foreign governments, which used it to target government officials, journalists, activists, and diplomats.
Pegasus scandal casts a shadow on new ownership
NSO’s Pegasus spyware, capable of remotely activating phones and extracting data, has been linked to surveillance abuses worldwide. It has reportedly been used against journalists, human rights defenders, and political dissidents in countries including India, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. In May, a U.S. court ordered NSO to pay $167 million in damages to Meta for hacking WhatsApp accounts, though the penalty was later reduced.
Robert Simonds, best known as the founder of STX Entertainment and producer of films like Happy Gilmore and Hustlers, had attempted to acquire NSO in 2023 but stepped down from the board after the deal fell through. Now, under his leadership, NSO plans to continue operating from Israel under full supervision of the Ministry of Defense while expanding globally and seeking to reestablish its presence in the U.S. rights organizations have raised concerns over the acquisition. John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, which has investigated NSO for years, told TechCrunch that the company “has a long record of actions against U.S. interests and supporting hacks of American officials.”
NSO’s new ownership faces significant challenges, balancing its controversial history with efforts to regain trust in the U.S. and beyond.
