11 US govt employees’ phones hacked using NSO Group’s spyware, say reports

If reports are to be believed, the phones of around 11 employees of US State Department were hacked with the help of NSO Group’s technology.    

The spyware of the Israel's most infamous hacker-for-hire company was used against employees, who are located in Uganda. These include some foreign service officers, said reports, citing a person familiar with the matter on Friday.  

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The disclosure was made by the person, who was not authorised to speak about an ongoing investigation.   

This is the first time the spyware, which is called Pegasus, seems to have been used against US government personnel.  

The iPhones of US State Department employees were hacked, the reports said.  

At a briefing on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, said, "We have been acutely concerned that commercial spyware like NSO Group software poses a serious counterintelligence and security risk to US personnel."   

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The identity of the individuals or the information sought was not disclosed.   

This development comes a month after the US Commerce Department blacklisted NSO Group. It barred US technology from being used by the company in any form.  

(With inputs from agencies)