The cyber arms NSO Group was founded in 2010 and is based in Herzliya, an attractive city north of Tel Aviv that is known as being a cluster of tech start-ups. The group was likely funded by the elite 8200 Intelligence Unit, an Israeli military-funded scheme for start-ups.

Source: BBC Technology

Date: September 1st, 2016

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37192670

Discussion

1) It is very likely you have never heard of a “cyber arms” company before, and yet  “the NSO Group’s owners –  US-based venture capital firm Francisco Partners  – were looking to sell the company at a value of around $1bn.”  Is it appropriate that there are companies out there selling cybersecurity weapons?

2) The attack on the person who realized there was indeed an attack, “had it worked, would have utilized not one but three zero day attacks. A “zero day” is a term given to vulnerabilities that were previously unknown to the security industry, and are therefore wide open to attack. To discover one zero day is rare, to find three is outstanding.”  How is it that one of the world’s greatest software companies missed not one, but three huge security issues in their software?