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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · 1d

A highly concerning development.

NSO and its customers have been targeting U.S. companies like WhatsApp and government officials in violation of U.S. laws and national security.

It should not be rewarded with American investments.

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai @lorenzofb.bsky.social · 1d

SCOOP: Spyware maker NSO Group confirmed to us that the company has been acquired by a U.S. investment group.

NSO's spokesperson said the group "has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership," but declined to say who is behind the investment.

Spyware maker NSO Group confirms acquisition by US investors | TechCrunch

NSO Group confirmed to TechCrunch that an unnamed group of American investors has taken “controlling ownership” of the surveillance tech maker.

techcrunch.com

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Vas Panagiotopoulos @vaspanagiotopoulos.com · 2d

In English: www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/ar...

Vas Panagiotopoulos @vaspanagiotopoulos.com · 2d

🚨Hollywood producer Robert Simonds of STX Entertainment, together with a group of 🇺🇸US private investors, has taken over #spyware vendor NSO Group to “save it from debt and help rescue it from the US Dept. of Commerce’s blacklisting,” 🇮🇱 business outlet Globes reports.
www.globes.co.il/news/article...

חוב של מאות מיליונים נמחק: הניסיון החדש להציל את NSO | בלעדי

www.globes.co.il

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Reposted by Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻

WIRED @wired.com · 2d

With the mercenary spyware industry booming, Apple VP Ivan Krstić tells WIRED that the company is also offering bonuses that could bring the max total reward for iPhone exploits to $5 million. www.wired.com/story/apple-...

Apple Announces $2 Million Bug Bounty Reward for the Most Dangerous Exploits

With the mercenary spyware industry booming, Apple VP Ivan Krstić tells WIRED that the company is also offering bonuses that could bring the max total reward for iPhone exploits to $5 million.

www.wired.com

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Vas Panagiotopoulos @vaspanagiotopoulos.com · 26d

[9/10] “It is very concerning that EU bodies' and member states' 💶money may be going into funding the spyware industry,” says @accessnow.org's @natynettle.bsky.social. “This in turn breeds corruption and abuse. There should be strict scrutiny applied to these types of investments.”

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · Aug 19

⚖️ 🔍 My new op-ed for @justsecurity.org + @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social about the opportunities & dangers of discovery in U.S. spyware litigation

Access Now @accessnow.org · Aug 19

Civil litigation discovery is a double-edged sword: it facilitates fact-finding but can also expose sensitive data, threaten security, and undermine privacy.

This op-ed by @natynettle.bsky.social discusses important lessons for advocacy experts 🔽 www.justsecurity.org/118409/disco...

Discovery in U.S. Spyware Litigation: A Double-Edged Sword?

Despite its inherent risks, civil society and policymakers can learn how to benefit from the discovery process in spyware cases.

www.justsecurity.org

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · Aug 14

Spoke to @businessinsider.com about Russia's wide-scale internet shutdowns and their devastating effect on the regular people and the country's digital economy.

www.businessinsider.com/russia-econo...

Russia has been cutting the internet to stop drones — and it's driving a cash comeback

Internet outages have surged in recent months, from 69 incidents in May to 662 in June and 2,099 in July.

www.businessinsider.com

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · Jul 22

⚖️ An important ECtHR ruling that some may have missed:

The Court ruled that Russia breached Free Expression rights by imposing excessive fines on Google for failure to remove YouTube channels & videos critical of the gov + suspending sanctioned pro-gov Tsargrad TV accounts

ECtHR Press Release: Fines and penalties against Google breached its free-expression rights

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Andre Meister @andre.netzpolitik.org · Jun 26

Das israelische Staatstrojaner-Unternehmen Paragon hat auch eine GmbH in Deutschland. Die Bundesregierung verweigert eine Antwort, ob deutsche Behörden mit diesen Firmen in Kontakt sind. Gefragt hatte ‪@donatavogtschmidt.bsky.social‬. dserver.bundestag.de/btd/21/004/2...

Abgeordnete Donata Vogtschmidt (Die Linke)

Gab es bisher Ausfuhrgenehmigungsprozesse im Zusammenhang mit dem Spyware-Unternehmen Paragon inklusive dessen deutscher Firma Paragon Solutions (Germany) GmbH, und wenn ja, wie viele (bitte nach beantragten und genehmigten Ausfuhren unterscheiden), und welche weiteren Kontakte gab es bisher mit Paragon beziehungsweise Paragon Solutions (Germany) GmbH?

Antwort des Staatssekretärs Bernhard Kluttig vom 10. Juni 2025

Entsprechende Ausfuhrgenehmigungen wurden nicht erteilt. Die Bundesregierung sieht entsprechend der Feststellungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts in seinem Urteil vom 21. Oktober 2014 (BVerfGE 137, 185) von weiteren Auskünften ab.

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · Jun 21

Incredible news!

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Jun 21

⚡ Belarus has freed 14 political prisoners, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski, husband of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The release follows a meeting between Alexander Lukashenko and U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...

Belarus releases Siarhei Tsikhanouski and 13 other political prisoners after Lukashenko meets with Trump envoy — Meduza

The Belarusian authorities have released 14 political prisoners, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski, the husband of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, according to the newspaper Nasha Niva.

meduza.io

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Reposted by Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻

Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · Jun 21

In Belarus, the husband of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya,Syarhey, has been released,along with several other prisoners

They had been sentenced following the attempted overthrow of Lukashenko in 2020

Their release coincided with the visit of Kellogg to Belarus

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · Jun 18

Russian hackers continue targeting civil society with phishing.

Excellent new investigation by @citizenlab.ca and Google uncovers sophisticated phishing attack against prominent Russia expert Keir Giles. The hackers were impersonating US State Department.

citizenlab.ca/2025/06/russ...

Same Sea, New Phish: Russian Government-Linked Social Engineering Targets App-Specific Passwords - The Citizen Lab

Keir Giles, a prominent expert on Russia, was targeted with a new form of social-engineering attack that leverages App-Specific Passwords. Google links the operation to UNC6293, a Russian state-backed...

citizenlab.ca

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Reposted by Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻

Raphael Satter @raphae.li · Jun 12

New: *Another* Italian journalist was targeted using Paragon’s spyware, per @citizenlab.ca

www.reuters.com/business/med...

Second Italian journalist targeted with Paragon spyware, watchdog group says

A second Italian journalist was recently targeted by software made by U.S.-owned surveillance company Paragon, internet watchdog group Citizen Lab said, raising new questions about a surveillance scandal that has already led Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government and Paragon to part ways.

www.reuters.com

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · Jun 12

New bombshell report from Citizen Lab confirming with high confidence that Italian Fanpage.it journalist Ciro Pellegrino + anonymous European journalist were targeted with Paragon’s Graphite mercenary spyware.

This scandal is not going away…

citizenlab.ca/2025/06/firs...

Graphite Caught: First Forensic Confirmation of Paragon’s iOS Mercenary Spyware Finds Journalists Targeted - The Citizen Lab

We conducted a forensic analysis of devices belonging to two journalists who were notified by Apple that they were targeted with advanced spyware.

citizenlab.ca

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David DiMolfetta @ddimolfetta.bsky.social · Jun 9

Various agencies are in possession of lists of confirmed or potential victims, but it’s not clear if the tallies are consistent. CISA, for instance, has a list of both telecom and IT companies, but an FBI tabulation shows different entities.
www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

US agencies assessed Chinese telecom hackers likely hit data center and residential internet providers

Data center giant Digital Realty and mass media titan Comcast were documented as likely victims of the Salt Typhoon cyberespionage group, people familiar say, marking a potentially major expansion of ...

www.nextgov.com

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · Jun 10

Spoke to @suzannesmalley.bsky.social about the ongoing Paragon spyware scandal in Italy.

If Paragon indeed offered help investigating Francesco Cancellato’s case and Italian gov refused it, it puts the conclusions of the COPASIR report under question…

Suzanne Smalley @suzannesmalley.bsky.social · Jun 9

For 1st time spyware co publicly ends contract with a govt client for abuses. Paragon: It cut ties w/ Italy bc officials wouldn't let it independently verify intel agencies didn't use its product to hack journalist. Govt had said it found no evidence journo was hacked
therecord.media/paragon-spyw...

Spyware maker cuts ties with Italy after government refused audit into hack of journalist’s phone

Israel-based spyware maker Paragon and Italy's government had a falling out over the company's offer to help investigate what happened on journalist Francesco Cancellato's phone.

therecord.media

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · May 12

Russian authorities imposed a wide scale mobile #internetshutdowns 🛜 in 30+ regions of Russia during the WWII Victory Day celebrations.

Here is the statement from the #KeepItOn coalition

www.accessnow.org/press-releas...

#KeepItOn: Kremlin Must End Internet Shutdowns at National Events

The undersigned strongly condemn the internet shutdowns imposed by Russian authorities during the 80th anniversary of World War II victory.

www.accessnow.org

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · May 6

NSO to pay almost 168 million in damages!

Congrats to WhatsApp on this historic (yes, historic) jury verdict against NSO Group!

This is also a win for all the researchers, advocates & victims who have been tirelessly exposing NSO's abuses & advocating for justice!
www.accessnow.org/press-releas...

NSO Fined $168 Million for Pegasus Spyware Attack on WhatsApp

In a landmark verdict, NSO Group must pay almost $168 million in damages for using Pegasus spyware to target WhatsApp.

www.accessnow.org

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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · May 4

Here is a screenshot the hacker provided of their access to TeleMessage's systems. This was a list of Customs and Border Protection officials. I called a bunch of them, confirmed the numbers do belong to CBP officials www.404media.co/the-signal-c...

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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · May 4

Here is an example of a message that was obtained by the hacker. There are Signal group chats too. This is the risk of archiving systems: they're no longer end-to-end encrypted. It introduces massive new risk www.404media.co/the-signal-c...

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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · May 4

New from 404 Media: the Signal clone the Trump administration uses was just hacked. TeleMessage makes a modified version of Signal that archives messages for government agencies, Waltz used it. A hacker got some users' messages, group chats. Hugely significant breach www.404media.co/the-signal-c...

The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked

TeleMessage, a company that makes a modified version of Signal that archives messages for government agencies, was hacked.

www.404media.co

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404 Media @404media.co · May 4

The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked

🔗 www.404media.co/the-signal-c...

The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked

TeleMessage, a company that makes a modified version of Signal that archives messages for government agencies, was hacked.

www.404media.co

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · May 1

Spoke to @suzannesmalley.bsky.social @therecordmedia.bsky.social about the high stakes of the ongoing WhatsApp v NSO trial.

After spending the past decade profiting from human rights abuses & undermining digital security, NSO may finally have to pay big damages.

therecord.media/nso-whatsapp...

NSO Group damages in WhatsApp spyware case could be in the ‘tens of millions,’ experts predict

The damages stemming from the use of the Israeli spyware maker's Pegasus tool to hack into WhatsApp users' devices are likely to be onerous — but unlikely to put an end to its use, observers said.

therecord.media

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POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · Apr 23

A prominent European Parliament member was the victim of what is believed to be a cyber-espionage operation tied to her role as chair of the chamber's Iran delegation, she told POLITICO.

European Parliament’s Iran delegation chair victim of Tehran-linked hacking

Hannah Neumann was targeted in a cyber-espionage operation by an infamous Iranian hacking group earlier this year, she said.

www.politico.eu

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Heartland Initiative @heartlandorg.bsky.social · Apr 22

"NSO’s strategy has been to try to attack the rep of civil society victims, claiming that they were in fact criminals/terrorists & therefore deserved to be hacked. The court’s ruling will make it very difficult for #NSO to launch such attacks." @natynettle.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/whatsapp-nso...

Judge limits evidence about NSO Group customers, victims in damages trial

A U.S. judge limits what evidence NSO Group can present in the WhatsApp spyware trial, blocking arguments about suspected criminal targets and focusing the case on NSO’s conduct.

cyberscoop.com

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Natalia Krapiva 🕊️👩🏻‍💻 @natynettle.bsky.social · Apr 22

Spoke to @timstarks.bsky.social from @cyberscoop.bsky.social about the latest WhatsApp v NSO ruling.

Judge Hamilton's decision protects NSO's civil society victims from re-victimization and future attacks against their privacy, reputation, and character.

cyberscoop.com/whatsapp-nso...

Judge limits evidence about NSO Group customers, victims in damages trial

A U.S. judge limits what evidence NSO Group can present in the WhatsApp spyware trial, blocking arguments about suspected criminal targets and focusing the case on NSO’s conduct.

cyberscoop.com

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