A rival spyware company of the NSO Group also helped hack iPhones

like watch differences Aging in relation to Israeli spyware company NSO Group, another lesser known Israeli spy company apparently helping to hack iPhones around the world.

Reuters Reports QuaDream is a smaller “personal” monitoring provider that nonetheless has similar hacking capabilities to NSO and was in fact founded in part by former NSO employees. The company appears to be based in Tel Aviv and hasn’t had much exposure in the US press yet, but like NSO, QuaDream has exploited “many of the same vulnerabilities” in Apple’s software to help iPhone users hack iPhones, according to a Reuters customer report.

QuaDream allegedly sells a “zero-click” exploit – a sneaky cyber attack that can silently expose compromised phones without the need for it phishing. This feat, dubbed REIGN, is said to be nearly identical to forced entryA fearsome online NSO exploit famous for being “one of the most technically sophisticated” exploits ever produced, according to Google researchers. who analyzed.

Likewise, QuaDream spyware appears to have frightening capabilities that can completely and completely invade anyone’s digital life. Reuters writes that REIGN has the ability to:

… taking control of a smartphone, collecting instant messages from services like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, as well as emails, photos, texts and contacts, according to two existing 2019 and 2020 product brochures reviewed by Reuters. REIGN’s “Premium Collection” features included “real-time call recordings”, “camera activation – front and back” and “microphone activation”, as stated in the brochure.

Little is known about QuaDream’s customer base, though the company has worked on behalf of the governments of Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Singapore, Reuters reports. It may also have worked for the Indonesian government, the agency said.

Israel is thriving monitoring industry It is assumed that it is one of the largest companies Axes for cyber weapons distribution in the world. Four other Israeli monitoring firms, including CobWebs Technologies, Bluehawk CI, Cognyte and Black Cube, were all I started from the company formerly known as Facebook Platforms in December after it was revealed that they were involved in ongoing spying activities targeting tens of thousands of users.

Similarly, NSO Constant scandals It caused great suffering in Israel, as the company is accused of committing it Close links With government and often used as diplomatic tool. It is unlikely that recent discoveries about QuaDream will help in this situation.