Mobile Phones of US Officials in Uganda Hacked using Israeli NSO Software

Details are emerging on reports that Israeli spyware firm NSO Group’s software was used to hack mobile phones belonging to US officials of State Department in Kampala.

At least nine US officials in Kampala were affected affected by the hacking.

The targeted officials were using iPhones.

The hacking happened a week since Apple threatened to sue NSO Group for targeting users of its devices.

NSO Group is also behind Pegasus software, which Rwanda was recently reported to be using to target Uganda.

According to NSO Group, its software doesn’t work on phones that start with +1 country code.

But the phones said to have been hacked were reportedly using the +256 code.

A spokesperson for NSO has been quoted as saying: “If our investigation shall show these actions indeed happened with NSO’s tools, such customer will be terminated permanently and legal actions will take place.”

At a press conference on December 03, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: “We have been acutely concerned that commercial spyware like NSO Group software poses a serious counterintelligence and security risk to US personnel.”

Additional Reporting: Courtesy