Another Israeli firm was found doing what the NSO group once did, selling tools similar to the Pegasus hacking tool used to exploit an iPhone flaw. The spyware company was then forced to shut down as an NSO spokesperson said that they did not cooperate with the smaller company.
NSO Group's Rival QuaDream Sold Spyware as well
Based on AppleInsider's story, a new report suggests that a lower-profile firm known as QuaDream, a rival of the NSO Group, had also been doing what the group was doing. QuaDream also allowed its customers to hack into smartphones by exploiting an iPhone flaw remotely.
When the NSO Group received increasing pressure regarding its Pegasus hacking tool, the makers of this tool considered shutting it down. As per an article by Reuters, five unnamed sources have come forward and confirmed that QuaDream did exist as another Israeli spyware company.
QuaDream had the 'Same Ability to Compromise iPhones as Pegasus'
The sources also note that QuaDream actually had the "same ability to compromise iPhones as Pegasus." QuaDream reportedly did so during the same time that the NSO Group was also doing the same thing.
An NSO Group spokesperson gave a written statement to Reuters regarding the existence of QuaDream. As per the company, they "did not cooperate" with QuaDream. The spokesperson, however, did note that the cyber intelligence industry is still continuing to grow at rapid rates around the world.
QuaDream Sold an App Called 'Reign'
QuaDream was founded in 2016, and its main hacking software was a certain app known as "Reign." In a report that was just recently released, the company even advertised the ability to hack 50 smartphones a year back in 2019.
The advert charged its customers a fee of $2.2 million with a maintenance fee on top. To add, the company also offered "unknown higher fees" for certain additional options like "real time recordings" and even features that allowed its customers to activate the hacked smartphone's camera and microphone.
QuaDream and NSO Group Sold Spyware Independently
Although both the NSO Group and QuaDream developed the spyware they sold independently, the two companies were still exploiting the same vulnerability. With that, the iPhone vulnerability that was exploited was called ForcedEntry.
As Apple's resolution, they decided to patch the flaw, specifically blocking the NSO Group. In addition, the patch also blocked QuaDream's system as well.
As of the moment, the known security hole that both QuaDream and the NSO Group were using was the patch iOS 14.8. As of the moment, it is still unclear whether the two have any iOS 15 attack surfaces since there have not yet been reports of any infiltration from either company.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
