Following pressure from human rights organisations, Israeli technology company NSO Group will no longer be permitted to exhibit its Pegasus software at the International Security Expo taking place in London on 28-29 September 2021. 

ALQST remains concerned that NSO Group is taking part in the event, and held a protest alongside Amnesty International and SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) on 28 September outside the site. Targets of NSO’s Pegasus surveillance software include the late Executive Director of ALQST Alaa Al-Siddiq and ALQST founder Yahya Assiri, among many other human rights activists and journalists. 

While the NSO Group claims that its spyware is used exclusively to deter crime and terrorism, and that the company is willing to investigate misuse of its technology, it has not yet taken any action in response to widespread allegations of abuse. The British government itself has made complaints about NSO Group’s conduct. 

A recent investigation by Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories, the Pegasus Project, highlighted the scale on which NSO spyware is being used by repressive states, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, to hack citizens around the world, including human rights activists, journalists and government officials. A list of 50,000 phone numbers have been identified as possible surveillance targets, including potentially hundreds of British citizens.

ALQST Acting Director Nabhan Al-Hanshi commented: “We have seen the scope of attacks involving NSO’s Pegasus software, targeting countless citizens across the world, including in the UK. We are pleased that the company will no longer be able to promote this sinister product at the expo, but continue to urge the UK government to heed the calls of civil society and concerned citizens saying “No to NSO” until it acts to stop misuse of its software, and urging greater regulation of the cybersecurity industry as a whole.”