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An employee of the Israeli computer company NSO Group Technologies stole the company's software and tried to sell it on the black web. The program, called Pegasus, is clbadified as a security tool; in the wrong hands, it was likely to undermine the security of the state. The value of the program and other NSO products stolen by the accused was estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. An indictment filed against the employee last week has charged him with security offenses in addition to his employer's theft. Until now, a gag order has been imposed on the details of the indictment, but the publication of some of them has been allowed.
The indictment filed last week by the prosecutor's computer department is considered by the authorities as one of the worst cases of cybersecurity and economic crime in history d & # 39; Israel. The state has requested that the accused's pre-trial detention be extended until the end of the legal proceedings against him.
The accused, a 38-year-old man, is accused of attempting to damage property in ways that undermine the security of the state. by an employee, unlicensed defense marketing defense marketing, and disruption or obstruction of computer equipment.
NSO provides technological solutions in the field of cyberattacks for the purpose of obtaining information for security purposes. The company produces tools and software facilitating the production of information necessary for the security of the state and its citizens and to thwart terrorist attacks. NSO markets its products to security agencies in Israel and abroad, with exports being overseen by SIBAT – the Foreign Defense Assistance and Defense Export organization within the Ministry of Defense. The company had 500 employees during the indictment period and would have a value of at least $ 900 million.
The indictment indicates that the accused was working at the NSO as a senior programmer. As part of his work, he had access to the company's computer servers, tools developed on the servers and source code of the company's products, which were also stored on the servers. On April 29, the employee was called to a pre-dismissal hearing. According to the indictment, the accused connected a mobile storage device to the company's servers and downloaded the software, products and information on it, including the source code of the software, overcoming the protection systems on the computers of the company.
After copying the products of the company, the accused contacted another person through the black canvas. The accused was falsely represented to this person as a hacker belonging to a group of computer hackers who had managed to break into NSO's computer systems and proposed that the second person purchase the cybernetic capabilities of NSO for $ 50 million. He asked to be paid in cryptocurrency that does not allow to trace the holder. The attempted sale was discovered when the person to whom the software had been offered stated that the accused had communicated with the ONS. The ONS came on the scene and asked for details of the cybernetic capabilities put on sale by the accused. The accused gave more information about the cybernetic capabilities that he was trying to sell and about the product versions.
Following these events, the company made an urgent request to the Israeli police on June 5 and the accused was arrested by the Lahav. cyber unit. The investigation revealed that because of this action by the company and the prompt handling of the incident by the cybercafe, the accused's planned sale did not materialize .
The evidence gathered in the investigation shows that the actions of the accused endangered the NSOs. led to its collapse. In addition, the indictment baderts that the actions of the accused have endangered the security of the state, and the accused is therefore charged with "the state of affairs". attempting to damage property used by security forces in a manner that could have harmed the security of the state. Under the Gag order, however, additional details about the state security damage involved in the case can not be reported.
The request to keep the suspect under arrest until the end of the proceedings The defender committed the offenses out of greed, although he was aware, or at least ignored the fact, that the offenses would undermine the security of the state and were likely to cause the collapse. of a company of 500 employees and worth at least $ 900 million … All these facts indicate the serious risks faced by the defendant and the great concern that the defendant continues to put endangering state security and public safety. 19659002] The State Attorney's Office says that one of the biggest threats to information security comes from a "mole in the interior". A number of significant instances of theft of computerized information have occurred in recent years in which the author was an employee with legal access to information; Due to the financial motivation or bitterness of his employers, the author stole the information and used it illegally.
It now appears that theft of the Pegasus program will become one of the most dangerous security breaches only by a miracle, provided that the investigators are right to conclude that the wrongdoing failed to sell or transfer the software to anyone.
The accused detained for three weeks one of the most dangerous spy tools – a powerful tool allowing the user to listen and videotape. any person in the world without their knowledge – without anyone preventing him from doing what he wanted with him.
Serious security vulnerability [19659002L'affairePegasusdonnelieuàplusieursquestionsgravesLeplustroublantestdesavoirsilelogicielvoléaatteintdesmainsnonautoriséesoumêmehostilesSiaucoursdes21jourspendantlesquelsl'accusépossédaitleprogrammeilapriscontactavecl'unedecespartiesilauraitpufacilementleurdonnerleprogrammeparInternetEntredemauvaisesmainsunteloutilpourraitdevenirunearmeextrêmementdangereuseutiliséesansrestrictionnisurveillance
L & # 39; s investigation shows that this s & # 39; is apparently not produced. The first attempt to sell the program took place only after the accused was finally fired by the company and that he engaged in heated discussions with his employer. It was very lucky for NSO, who could have been critically hit if his program had been around the world and his most secret abilities had been unveiled. He is also very fortunate for anyone concerned with individual rights and privacy and the ability of some countries to affect democratic processes and information systems in other countries. It remains to be questioned whether NSO acted negligently in taking no immediate action to recover its code from X.
A second issue arising from the case is the quality of the employees employed in high-tech companies and their reliability. dangerous technology is involved. Employees of Israeli security companies are scanned and thoroughly studied before being accepted. In the field of high technology, anyone can be hired with virtually no verification.
A third troubling issue is the effectiveness of the Ministry of Defense's oversight of cybersecurity systems. This surveillance is now exposed as ineffective because it has allowed critical technology to find its way into irresponsible hands. In the era of cyberwar, the Department of National Defense may need to revise its mode of operation.
"No use was made of the material"
The ONS replied "Attempts to steal internal information internally of the business are still threats that it is difficult to prevent and detect: in this case, a former employee would have stolen the intellectual property of the company and tried to monetize it illegally for his gain The company was able to quickly identify the violation, collect evidence, identify the perpetrator and share its findings with the relevant authorities. authorities in turn reacted quickly and effectively, so that the ex-employee was arrested very quickly and that the stolen goods were secured.We will continue to support the lawsuit of the author to the full extent of the law and to pursue all available legal actions. Clearly stated in the indictment, no intellectual property or business materials have been shared with any third party or disclosed otherwise.
"We would like to thank the police and the Attorney General's team for their prompt and professional work.
Published by Globes [online] Israel business news – www.globes-online.com – July 5, 2018
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