NEW FBI INVESTIGATION

The FBI is reportedly investigating an Israeli spyware vendor to see if it had any involvement in possible personal and governmental hacks.

Reuters reported Thursday, citing four people familiar with the inquiry, that the FBI is looking into NSO Group Technologies.

One person interviewed by the FBI told Reuters that the bureau has been looking at the company since 2017, when it was attempting to determine whether the company had received code from American hackers that can be used to infect smartphones.

NSO’s software Pegasus has the ability to collect everything on a phone. The company told Reuters it sells spy software and technical support only to governments, and those tools are used to go after terrorists and other criminals. It also has maintained that its products cannot be used against U.S. phone numbers, but some experts have dismissed that claim.

The FBI had more interviews with technology experts after Facebook filed a lawsuit in October alleging NSO took advantage of its WhatsApp messaging service to hack 1,400 people, Reuters   reported, citing two people who had spoken with Justice Department officials.