The chief executive of embattled Israeli spyware maker NSO has stepped down as part of a corporate reorganization, the company announced Sunday.
NSO has been connected to a number of scandals resulting from alleged misuse by customers of its flagship Pegasus phone surveillance software. Last year, the U.S. placed restrictions on the company, saying its tools had been used to "conduct transnational repression." NSO denies any wrongdoing.
In a statement, the company said that CEO Shalev Hulio, one of its founders, would be stepping down. Yaron Shohat, the company's chief operating officer, will lead the firm on an interim basis and manage the reorganization process while it searches for a new CEO.
A company official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the reorganization efforts, said Hulio is to remain with the company. The official added that 100 employees, or roughly 13 per cent of NSO's work force, would be dismissed.
Pegasus allows operators to stealthily invade a target's mobile device, giving them access to contacts, messages and movement history.
The company says that Pegasus is sold only to foreign governments after approval by Israel's Defense Ministry as a tool for catching criminals and terrorists.
It says it has safeguards in place to prevent abuse, but critics say these safeguards don't go far enough and NSO has acknowledged it cannot control whom its clients monitor. It says it does not have access to information that is collected.
Critics, including human rights groups and outside researchers, say customers have abused Pegasus to keep tabs on journalists, rights activists and political dissidents from Mexico to Saudi Arabia to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
NSO does not identify its clients. But the company has acknowledged cutting off at least seven customers for abusing its technology. These reportedly have included authorities in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
Sunday's statement said firm's reorganization will examine "all aspects of its business, including streamlining its operations to ensure NSO remains one of the world's leading high-tech cyber intelligence companies, focusing on NATO-member countries."
NSO also faces lawsuits from Apple and Facebook accusing the Israeli firm of breaking into their products.
The U.S. Commerce Department's decision to add NSO to its "entity list" has hurt the company by limiting its access to U.S. components and technology. NSO is challenging the designation.
The company has also been hurt by an Israeli decision late last year to tighten its supervision of cyber exports. That decision, made in the wake of criticism that Israel's oversight of the digital surveillance industry was too lax, has reduced the number of countries that can purchase Israeli cyber software from over 100 to 37.
Luis Armando Albino was six years old in 1951 when he was abducted while playing at an Oakland, Calif., park. Now, more than seven decades later, Albino has been found thanks to help from an online ancestry test, old photos and newspaper clippings.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is telling world leaders to either bury their heads in the sand or put differences aside for the sake of future generations.
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Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties.
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An explosion in a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 33 workers and injured 17 others, officials said Sunday, marking one of the worst mining disasters in the country's history as others remained missing hours after the blast.
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At least two students at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania have been suspended from the swim team after a report that a racial slur was scratched onto a student's body, officials said.
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Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
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The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she'll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.
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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a nickname for the opposition’s end zone. They refer to it as the “chicken box.â€
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The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
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Â鶹´«Ã½ Montreal at Six for Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024 with anchor Matt Gilmour.
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The most popular hockey podcasters on the planet brought some major attention to the Forest City this weekend with the annual Chiclets Cup.
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A year after being recognized as one of 19 ‘Bee Campuses’ by Bee City Canada, Georgian College continues to promote the importance of bees to agriculture, the economy and education.
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The Amherstburg Uncommon Festival is living up to its name with the addition of a drone light show — a first for Essex County.
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A Victoria woman is now $1 million richer after winning a Maxmillions prize on a recent Lotto Max Draw.
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The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
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Lethbridge County has rescinded its fire restriction as a result of the recent cool, wet weathr.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin – made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario
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Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
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