FBI Purchased NSO Group's Pegasus Spyware While CIA Helped Djibouti Government Obtain It

Hungarian journalists targeted with Pegasus to launch legal action against Hungary, NSO Group, UK warns orgs to prepare for cyberattacks, Biden administration launches water cybersecurity plan, more

The U.S. FBI purchased notorious NSO Group’s zero-click Pegasus spyware for $5 million and tested it before purportedly deciding not to use it. The system currently lies dormant at the facility in New Jersey.

Separately, the Central Intelligence Agency arranged and paid for the government of Djibouti to obtain Pegasus to help the U.S. fight terrorism, despite longstanding concerns about human rights abuses there, including the persecution of journalists and the torture of government opponents. The D.E.A., the Secret Service, and the U.S. military’s Africa Command also held discussions with NSO.

A brochure for American law enforcement and intelligence agencies pitched U.S. authorities on an “independent solution” that requires no cooperation from AT&T, Verizon, Apple, or Google. The system, it says, will “turn your target’s smartphone into an intelligence gold mine.”

The FBI abandoned its planned use of Pegasus after a consortium of news organizations called Forbidden Stories brought forw…