Israel is loth to regulate its spyware exports

WHEN INTERNATIONALNSO news organisations revealed that at least ten governments had used Pegasus, a powerful software tool created by Israel’s Group, to hack into the smartphones of thousands of people around the world, including politicians, human-rights activists and journalists, the Israeli government shrugged. A humdrum official statement insisted that all Israeli cyber-exports were regulated by the government in “adherence to international arrangements”. Export licences were granted “exclusively to governmental entities, for lawful use, and only for the purpose of preventing and investigating crime and counter-terrorism”.Israeli defence exporters privately expressed ridicule. “Arms companies can’t keep track of every rifle and bullet they sell to legitimate customers,” said one. “Why should we have higher expectations when it comes to software?...Israeli spying is a sexy subject and these reports are the price for doing business.”