Private equity executive sought to undermine NSO critics, data suggests

Information released under data protection laws sheds light on apparent effort to undermine Canadian research group Citizen Lab

When Downing Street was recently named as the suspected victim of a phone hack by the United Arab Emirates using the Israeli-made spyware, Pegasus, few were surprised at who was behind the discovery.

The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto has for years been a thorn in the side of the NSO Group, deciphering the company's sophisticated hacking tools and - crucially - identifying victims of the spyware.