One of President Donald Trump’s allies has been hired to lead a controversial technology company that developed an app that has been used to track journalists and human rights leaders across the globe. David Friedman, a former bankruptcy lawyer for Trump and the ambassador to Israel during Trump’s first term, was recently hired as the chief executive of NSO Group, an Israeli technology company that developed Pegasus, an app that The Wall Street Journal reported has been used to “spy on political dissidents, human-rights advocates, journalists and American officials.” Friedman is joining NSO Group at a time when an American investor group is taking control of the company. The group includes Hollywood producer Robert Simond, who leads STX Entertainment. John Scott-Railton, a researcher at Citizen Lab, issued a dire warning about Friedman’s hire on Bluesky after the news was announced. “They’re trying to push Pegasus spyware to America,” Scott-Railton posted on Bluesky. “Your rights and freedoms are in danger.””Most people know that Pegasus spyware has a mountain of abuse cases around the globe,” he added. “But for [about] a decade, NSO has also profited from enabling foreign governments to hack American citizens’ phones. And US officials.””Even in Trump 1, the admin was concerned about Pegasus proliferation,” he continued. “And in 2021, with a clear-eyed assessment that NSO was harming US national security and foreign policy objectives. What followed? Entity listing, visa bans, and an executive order on spyware. Plus congressional action.””I believe NSO does not change,” he added. “They’ve churned through countless lobbyists to persuade you that they are turning over a new leaf. But in the end, it’s always the same story. Activists, elections, politicians, and dissidents are getting their lives turned upside down.”
Dark, brutal, beautiful and mad: Van der Graaf Generator, the darkest and most influential group in progressive rock
...
Read moreDetails
