Former NSO Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing and Attempting to Sell Spyware Code
Yechiel Isakov will serve a five-year sentence after additional charges of jeopardizing Israel’s national security were dropped
Tomer Ganon, CTech
| 17/01/2019
Ahmed Mansoor, the “Million Dollar Dissident.” - citizenlab.org
Yechiel Isakov, a former employee of Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Tel Aviv district court to charges of stealing company assets and attempting to sell them to a third party, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
As part of his plea deal, Isakov will serve a five-year sentence. Charges of attempting to maliciously damage assets in a way that could jeopardize Israel’s national security and unauthorized trade and marketing of defense technologies have been dropped.
38-year-old Isakov was arrested in June after he attempted to sell the assets for $50 million worth of crypto coins on the darknet. The intended buyer contacted NSO, which then reported the incident to the police.
Founded in 2010 and based in Herzliya, NSO develops and sells spyware that gives operators remote control over mobile devices. The company’s products are sold to governments and law enforcement agencies around the globe, and each deal is subject to approval from the Israeli ministry of defense.
First published on calcalistech.com
Yechiel Isakov will serve a five-year sentence after additional charges of jeopardizing Israel’s national security were dropped
Ahmed Mansoor, the “Million Dollar Dissident.” - citizenlab.org
Yechiel Isakov, a former employee of Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Tel Aviv district court to charges of stealing company assets and attempting to sell them to a third party, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
As part of his plea deal, Isakov will serve a five-year sentence. Charges of attempting to maliciously damage assets in a way that could jeopardize Israel’s national security and unauthorized trade and marketing of defense technologies have been dropped.
38-year-old Isakov was arrested in June after he attempted to sell the assets for $50 million worth of crypto coins on the darknet. The intended buyer contacted NSO, which then reported the incident to the police.
Founded in 2010 and based in Herzliya, NSO develops and sells spyware that gives operators remote control over mobile devices. The company’s products are sold to governments and law enforcement agencies around the globe, and each deal is subject to approval from the Israeli ministry of defense.
First published on calcalistech.com
