DEFENSE FIRM ENDS DEAL TO BUY ISRAELI SPYWARE

U.S. defense contractor L3Harris has reportedly ended its bid to buy spyware and hacking tools from Israeli tech company NSO Group.

According to news reports, L3Harris ended the talks following security concerns raised by the Biden administration last month that the acquisition of the spyware would “pose a serious counterintelligence and security risk to U.S. personnel and systems.”

U.S. officials familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that the defense firm “reached out to the U.S. government and said they would not be moving forward” with the acquisition a few days after the concerns were made public.

The administration has also raised concerns that the spyware has been used by foreign governments to spy on human rights activists, journalists and politicians.