Who Paid for a Mysterious Spy Tool? The FBI, an FBI Inquiry Found.

A New York Times investigation uncovered earlier this year that the US government used spyware made by Israeli hacking firm NSO. Now, after an FBI investigation into who was using the tech, the department uncovered a confusing answer: itself. From a report: The deal for the surveillance tool between the contractor, Riva Networks, and NSO was completed in November 2021. Only days before, the Biden administration had put NSO on a Commerce Department blacklist, which effectively banned U.S. firms from doing business with the company. For years, NSO's spyware had been abused by governments around the world. This particular tool, known as Landmark, allowed government officials to track people in Mexico without their knowledge or consent. The F.B.I. now says that it used the tool unwittingly and that Riva Networks misled the bureau. Once the agency discovered in late April that Riva had used the spying tool on its behalf, Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, terminated the contract, according to U.S. officials. But many questions remain. Why did the F.B.I. hire this contractor -- which the bureau had previously authorized to purchase a different NSO tool under a cover name -- for sensitive information-gathering operations outside the United States? And why was there apparently so little oversight?

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