Israel Taps Blacklisted Pegasus Maker To Track Hostages in Gaza

NSO Group and Candiru, both of which are blacklisted by the US, are being asked to quickly upgrade their spyware capabilities to meet needs laid out by the country's security forces

Israel's security services are pulling in spyware companies, including the maker of the controversial Pegasus software, to help track hostages in the Gaza Strip, people familiar with the matter said.

NSO Group and Candiru, both of which are blacklisted by the US, are being asked to quickly upgrade their spyware capabilities to meet needs laid out by the country's security forces, according to four cybersecurity industry sources and an Israeli government official. They, together with several other software firms, are collaborating on the requests and largely offering their services for free, said the people, who asked not to be identified because of they weren't authorized to comment on military operations.

The Defense Ministry didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The Israel Defense Forces and NSO, which makes Pegasus, declined to comment.