© EFE
The discovery marks the first time Palestinian activists have been targeted by the military-grade spyware known as Pegasus. A Pegasus infection gives hackers access to everything stored on a phone, including real-time communications, the Associated Press reported.
Half the phones hacked by the company belonged to activists affiliated with groups Israel deemed as terrorists last month. It is currently unclear who hired the group to hack the six phones, as NSO Group is a hacker-for-hire company, according to the outlet .
NSO Group and a lesser-known Israeli competitor, Candiru, were blacklisted by the Biden administration on Nov. 3, barring the companies from U.S. technology . U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the department was doing so in order to "hold companies accountable" and to stop them from using technology in "malicious" ways, according to the outlet.
NSO Group was also accused in July of successfully hacking the phones of dozens of journalists, government officials, and business leaders globally. The company denied that either it or its clients used Pegasus software to hack 37 phones, which appeared on a list of more than 50,000 numbers.
Israel designated six Palestinian groups as terrorist organizations on Oct. 22. The groups were designated for allegedly funding the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which has an armed wing that has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis.
Israel has yet to provide concrete evidence to prove the alleged connections, leading many to criticize the designation.
Rep. Andy Levin wrote Friday on social media that he would like to examine the evidence Israeli intelligence has against the groups.
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