How Close Was America's FBI to Deploying Pegasus Spyware?

In a statement in February, America's Federal Bureau of Investigation "confirmed that it obtained NSO Group's powerful Pegasus spyware" back in 2019, reported the Guardian. At the time the FBI added that "There was no operational use in support of any investigation, the FBI procured a limited licence for product testing and evaluation only." "But dozens of internal F.B.I. documents and court records tell a different story," the New York Times reported today:The documents, produced in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by The New York Times against the bureau, show that F.B.I. officials made a push in late 2020 and the first half of 2021 to deploy the hacking tools - made by the Israeli spyware firm NSO - in its own criminal investigations. The officials developed advanced plans to brief the bureau's leadership, and drew up guidelines for federal prosecutors about how the F.B.I.'s use of hacking tools would need to be disclosed during criminal proceedings. It is unclear how the bureau was contemplating using Pegasus, and whether it was considering hacking the phones of American citizens, foreigners or both. In January, The Times revealed that F.B.I. officials had also tested the NSO tool Phantom, a version of Pegasus capable of hacking phones with U.S. numbers. The F.B.I. eventually decided not to deploy Pegasus in criminal investigations in July 2021, amid a flurry of stories about how the hacking tool had been abused by governments across the globe. But the documents offer a glimpse at how the U.S. government - over two presidential administrations - wrestled with the promise and peril of a powerful cyberweapon. And, despite the F.B.I. decision not to use Pegasus, court documents indicate the bureau remains interested in potentially using spyware in future investigations. "Just because the F.B.I. ultimately decided not to deploy the tool in support of criminal investigations does not mean it would not test, evaluate and potentially deploy other similar tools for gaining access to encrypted communications used by criminals," stated a legal brief submitted on behalf of the F.B.I. late last month.... The specifics of why the bureau chose not to use Pegasus remain a mystery, but American officials have said that it was in large part because of mounting negative publicity about how the tool had been used by governments around the world. The Times also notes two responses to their latest report. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden complained the FBI's earlier testimony about Pegasus was incomplete and misleading, and that the agency "owes Americans a clear explanation as to whether the future operational use of NSO tools is still on the table." But an F.B.I. spokeswoman said "the director's testimony was accurate when given and remains true today - there has been no operational use of the NSO product to support any FBI investigation." Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader crazyvas for suggesting the story.

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