Washington: An unexpected alliance involving a Hollywood producer and the heir to the Wrigley chewing gum fortune is reportedly considering a bid to acquire assets owned by NSO Group, the Israeli company responsible for developing the world’s most sophisticated cyber-weapons, also known as Pegasus.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Robert Simonds, a prominent US financier known for producing Adam Sandler films, has engaged in discussions regarding the purchase of the blacklisted spyware company's assets, as reported by The Guardian.
According to the same report, a company associated with Simonds' acquaintance, William 'Beau' Wrigley, who comes from a family legacy in the chewing gum industry and has ventured into the cannabis sector, has conducted due diligence in connection with a potential deal involving NSO.
NSO, which is closely regulated by Israel's Ministry of defence, sells its spyware to government clients around the world. It has faced intense scrutiny in the US, where the Joe Biden administration in 2021 took the extraordinary step of blacklisting the company after accusing it of selling software tools that "transnational repression", The Guardian reported.
NSO maintains that its Pegasus spyware is intended for use by government clients in combating serious crimes, such as terrorism, and asserts that it investigates credible allegations of misuse. However, its inclusion on the US blacklist, which restricts the transfer of American technology to the company without a special license, has raised questions about NSO's future.
In addition to the blacklisting, NSO is currently facing legal action from Apple and Facebook in the US over allegations of targeting the users of both companies. NSO contends that its hacking tools are controlled by its government clients rather than the company itself, according to The Guardian's report.