Key Democrat warns of major security risk if US firm acquires NSO hacking code

Ron Wyden says White House right to raise doubts about possible deal for contractor L3Harris to take over surveillance technology

An influential Democratic lawmaker has said any deal by a US company to acquire NSO Group's surveillance technology would pose a serious national security risk, and suggested that any intercepts obtained with the software by US intelligence agencies would end up in Israeli hands.

The remarks by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who chairs the finance committee and is known for being a strong supporter of privacy rights and a critic of government-sanctioned spying, come after the Guardian and media partners reported that the US defence contractor L3Harris was in talks to acquire NSO's hacking technology.