A new report suggests that the Israeli authorities approved the sales of phone hacking spyware to Riyadh so that it could ensnare dissidents. Israel's alleged intentions were to forge an alliance with a major power in the Arab world in its fight with Iran for influence in the Middle East.
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said, citing US intelligence officials speaking on conditions of anonymity, that Saudi officials sought to obtain Pegasus, state-of-the art mobile spyware, from Israeli cyber intelligence firm NSO Group Technologies.
The Saudis reportedly carried out some of the transactions with NSO via its Luxembourg-based affiliate called Q Cyber Technologies. Despite some Israelis voicing concerns about sharing the powerful malware with Riyadh, the sources claimed that the Israeli government gave its consent to the purchase of Pegasus by Riyadh.
This was seen as a win-win situation, the report says, given that the Israeli “gained a secret Sunni Arab ally against Iran” as well as an opportunity to spy on Riyadh through cyber security cooperation, while the Saudis acquired new tools to combat their “internal enemies.”
According to a recent Haaretz report, Saudi representatives held talks with NSO Group to obtain Pegasus, looking to hack into the phones of dissidents in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Critics of Riyadh living abroad previously claimed that their smartphones had been monitored by Saudi hackers.
US, Saudi Arabia Mil-to-Mil…