NSO Group Rival Spyware Company also helps hack the iPhone

As surveillance controversy raged over Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group, another, lesser-known spyware company in Israel, was also apparently helping to hack iPhones around the world.

Reuters reports that QuaDream is a smaller, “lower profiled” surveillance provider that nonetheless boasts similar hacking capabilities as the NSO and, in fact, was partially founded by two former NSO employees. Apparently based in Tel Aviv, the company has not been too exposed in the US press so far, but like the NSO, QuaDream has similarly exploited “many of the same vulnerabilities” in Apple’s software to help its customers hack iPhone users. .

QuaDream allegedly sells “zero-click” exploitation – an insidious cyber attack that can quietly compromise phones without the need for phishing. This feat, cheerfully called REIGN, is considered almost identical FORCEa terrifying cyber exploitation of the NSO that has been hailed as “one of the most technically sophisticated exploits” ever produced, according to Google researchers who analyzed it.

Similarly, QuaDream’s spyware seems to have daunting abilities that can completely and utterly break into a person’s digital life. Reuters writes that REIGN has the ability to:

… take control of your smartphone by collecting instant messages from services such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, as well as emails, photos, texts and contacts, according to two product brochures from 2019 and 2020 reviewed by Reuters. REIGN’s “Premium Collection” features included “real-time call recordings”, “front and rear camera activation” and “microphone activation”, according to one brochure.

Not much is known about QuaDream’s customer base, although the company reportedly worked on behalf of the governments of Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Singapore, Reuters reports. It may have worked for the Indonesian government as well, the publication said.

Israel is making progress control industry and is reportedly one of the largest cyber weapon hubs distribution worldwide. Four other Israeli surveillance companies, including CobWebs Technologies, Bluehawk CI, Cognyte and Black Cube, were all thrown out companies formerly known as Facebook’s platforms in December after it was revealed they were involved in ongoing spying activities targeting tens of thousands of users.

In this regard, NSOs ongoing scandals caused significant trouble in Israel, where the company allegedly close connections with the government and was often used as a diplomatic tool. Recent discoveries about QuaDream are unlikely to help in this situation.