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Israeli Firm’s Spyware Used to Surveil Top European Diplomats: Report

A number of top officials tied to the European Commission were targeted by the NSO Group last year.

European Commission officials were targeted by an unknown entity using spyware designed by the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group, according to a report by Reuters. EC Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders and some of his staffers were among those who received warnings from Apple that their iPhones were “targeted by state-sponsored attackers” last November when thousands of the phone users also were told they were hacked. The commission then sent out a notice by email to the officials. “Given the nature of your responsibilities, you are a potential target,” one email seen by Reuters warned. The bulk of the breaches came between February and September of last year, when the members were targeted by someone using cyber surveillance spyware ForcedEntry, which is a product of the NSO Group generally sold to foreign spy agencies. NSO—already in litigation and blacklisted by the U.S. over human-rights abuses—responded to Reuters’ request for comment that it was not responsible for the hacks and that the incursions “could not have happened with NSO’s tools.”