Statements that they’ll help thwart “mercenary spyware” are putting Apple and Meta on the side of platform users with fears about spying tools.
The Guardian reports that two spyware firms with ties to Israel are seeking to “make inroads with the Trump administration.” Those companies include the NSO Group—the notorious seller of the powerful Pegasus mobile spyware—and a firm called Paragon, which has previously contracted with the government.
Due to its many, many controversies over the years, NSO has had its fair share of financial problems, but the Israeli firm was recently bought by a U.S.-based group of investors. David Friedman, who previously served as Trump’s ambassador to Israel during his first administration, has been named NSO’s new head executive.
Recently, Friedman told the Wall Street Journal that he wanted to cozy up to the White House and sell NSO’s services to American law enforcement agencies. “If the administration, as I expect they’ll be, is receptive to considering any opportunity that might keep Americans safer, it will consider us,” Friedman told the newspaper.
Paragon, meanwhile, is another Israeli spyware firm that was also recently purchased by an American company. Last December, Paragon, maker of a piece of spyware called Graphite, was acquired by a U.S. investment firm called Red Lattice, Reuters previously reported. The Guardian notes that Paragon has worked in the past with the U.S. government, having “entered an agreement with ICE in 2024, under the Biden administration.” The outlet writes:
Several people who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the relatively small contract had slipped under the White House’s radar until it was reported by Wired. The contract was then paused in order to determine whether the contract met the requirements of an ambitious executive order that had been signed by the White House in May 2023 and prohibited the operational use of spyware that poses “risks to national security or has been misused by foreign actors to enable human rights abuses around the world.”
NSO has been accused of letting its products hack into some of the most prominent web messengers and platforms—including Meta’s WhatsApp and Apple’s iMessage. Paragon has also been accused of allowing its tool Graphite to target WhatsApp users. Now, The Guardian reports that both of those companies are pledging that they will protect mobile users from any future spyware.
A spokesperson from Apple told The Guardian: “Threat notifications are designed to inform and assist users who may have been individually targeted by mercenary spyware and geographic location is not a factor in who they are sent to.” Apple did not respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
When reached for comment by Gizmodo, a Meta spokesperson said: “WhatsApp’s priority is to protect our users by disrupting hacking efforts by mercenary spyware, building new layers of protection and alerting people whose device has come under threat, no matter where they are in the world.”
Gizmodo reached out to NSO for comment. It was unclear how to reach Paragon Solutions, as its website didn’t appear to have a contact portal. NSO has previously claimed that its products do not target U.S. citizens.
Authorities in the U.S. have had their eyes on these spyware firms for some time—albeit for different, often contradictory, reasons. On the one hand, in 2021, the Biden administration acknowledged that companies like NSO were having a detrimental impact and blacklisted it from U.S. investment. On the other hand, the FBI also spent years mulling whether to use the spyware for domestic law enforcement investigations. Now, the two powerful cyberweapons distributors seem to be attempting to cozy up to the Trump administration.
