When The New York Times reported in April that a contractor had purchased and deployed a spying tool made by NSO, the contentious Israeli hacking firm, for use by the U.S. government, White House officials said they were unaware of the contract and put the F.B.I. in charge of figuring out who might have been using the technology.
After an investigation, the F.B.I. uncovered at least part of the answer: It was the F.B.I.
The deal for the surveillance tool between the contractor, Riva Networks, and NSO was completed in November 2021. Only days before, the Biden administration had put NSO on a Commerce Department blacklist, which effectively banned U.S. firms from doing business with the company. For years, NSO’s spyware had been abused by governments around the world.
This particular tool, known as Landmark, allowed government officials to track people in Mexico without their knowledge or consent.
Note: It is improbable that Pegasus is restricted by whether a target phone is in Mexico or not. Therefore, I find it highly probable the FBI contractor or the FBI itself used Pegasus to spy on US citizens.
Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman, and Adam Goldman. (2023-07-31). “Who Paid for a Mysterious Spy Tool? The F.B.I., an F.B.I. Inquiry Found.”. New York Times. Accessed 2023-08-02.
Note: It is improbable that Pegasus is restricted by whether a target phone is in Mexico or not. Therefore, I find it highly probable the FBI contractor or the FBI itself used Pegasus to spy on US citizens.