MYSTERY SOLVED

FBI Investigation Finds NSO Spying Tool Used by, Er, the FBI: NYT

The agency’s probe came after it emerged that a contractor used the spyware on the government’s behalf.

An FBI investigation into who had been using a controversial spying tool on behalf of the U.S. government found that it was, in fact, the FBI itself, according to The New York Times. White House officials said in April they were unaware of a secret arrangement for a contractor, Riva Networks, to purchase and use the spyware from Israeli hacking company NSO on behalf of the government, putting the FBI in charge of working out who had been using the technology. The contract was allegedly taken out days after the Biden administration had put NSO on a Commerce Department blacklist. The spying tool, named Landmark, allows users to track people in Mexico without their knowledge or consent, according to the Times. The FBI discovered in late April it had unwittingly used the spyware and claims Riva Networks misled the agency.