An act that took everyone by surprise, Apple Requests Dismissal of Lawsuit Against NSO Group, Creators of Pegasus SpywareThe Cupertino residents filed the request Friday in federal court in the Northern District of California.
The decision is striking because earlier this year Apple scored its first victory against those responsible for Pegasus when NSO Group’s request to transfer the case to the courts of Israel, where the firm is headquartered, was rejected.
As mentioned in the document, Apple believes that the situation has changed a bit since it filed a lawsuit against NSO in late 2021. The company behind Pegasus no longer has the power it once had, but other players within it have gained influence in the spy industry.
Tim Cook staff believe that moving forward with the pending lawsuit increases the risk that confidential information has been leaked or disclosed about the methods you use to avoid spying on users of your devices.
“When the company filed this lawsuit nearly three years ago, Apple acknowledged that it would involve sharing information with third parties. However, events since this lawsuit was filed have changed the landscape of risks associated with sharing such information. Apple knows and appreciates that this court will be extremely careful with sensitive information relevant to this case. But you also know that now more than ever, predatory spyware companies, including those not at issue in this court, will use any means necessary to obtain this information. Apple currently relies on its threat intelligence to protect all of its users around the world; any disclosure, even under the most stringent controls, puts that information at risk. Given the events since this lawsuit was filed, we will move forward with this: “This point would be too important a risk to Apple’s threat intelligence program.”
An excerpt from Apple’s demand to withdraw the lawsuit against NSO Group.
Reasons for Apple’s Withdrawal of Lawsuit Against Pegasus Creators
In a request filed with a US court, Apple please indicate the reasons which is why the company decided not to sue NSO Group for spying on iPhone users with Pegasus. On the one hand, the Cupertino residents point out that over the past three years they have continued to develop their systems to detect and combat spyware threats, and that if information related to them were to be disclosed, it would create an “imminent risk” that their efforts would be adversely affected.
On the other hand, Apple cites a report from a British newspaper Guardian which mentions that the alleged hack of the Israeli Justice Ministry led to the disclosure of confidential materials related to WhatsApp’s lawsuit against NSO Group for using Pegasus. And it also points out that the same journalistic work shows that Israeli officials they took the documentation The case involves the company’s offices responsible for spyware.
“While Apple takes no position on the truth or falsity of the story, Guardian, […] its existence is a cause for concern about the possibility that Apple will get the opening it needs,” Cupertino says. Likewise, the Californians claim that the changes in the scenario for developing and using spyware have been such that it is a complete victory for the creators of Pegasus will have little impact compared to what he would have achieved in 2021.
“In order not to compromise its commitment to the security of its users, and in light of the events described above, Apple has now made the decision to prioritize its dedicated security resources and its Advanced Threat Analysis program to continue to stop destructive software espionage through technical means. For this reason, Apple respectfully and without prejudice requests the termination of the employee. [de la demanda]”.
An excerpt from Apple’s demand to withdraw the lawsuit against NSO Group.
It remains to be seen whether a California federal court will finally approve this request to dismiss the lawsuit against NSO Group for using Pegasus. As stated in the document, the court in question will rule on Apple’s request. next October 24.
Source: Hiper Textual
I’m Ben Stock, a highly experienced and passionate journalist with a career in the news industry spanning more than 10 years. I specialize in writing content for websites, including researching and interviewing sources to produce engaging articles. My current role is as an author at Gadget Onus, where I mainly cover the mobile section.
