David Friedman, the new president of the cyber company NSO, said on Monday that he would work to remove the company from the US "blacklist" it was placed on during the Biden administration.
Friedman, former US ambassador to Israel, told Israel Hayom in an interview marking his appointment that the Biden administration's decision "to punish NSO was political. It was made by people in the Biden administration who are not particularly strong supporters of Israel. Clearly, today we are in a very different world. We have the most supportive president in US history when it comes to Israel."
In 2021, the Biden administration determined NSO acted "contrary to US foreign policy and national security interests." Following this, then-President Joe Biden banned NSO from purchasing certain technologies in the US. Subsequently, in 2023, Biden signed an order restricting the use of the company's commercial spyware software.
An Israel Hayom investigation revealed at the time that the American measures, which apparently occurred deliberately, collapsed Israel's offensive cyber industry, of which NSO was the spearhead.
"Biden was not helpful"
Friedman confirmed in the interview that the company he will lead was indeed harmed. "NSO continued to operate throughout this difficult period, but it was a significant setback for the company. It didn't remove it from the market, but it certainly caused a decline in its client base and revenues. So the Biden administration was not particularly helpful to the company."
"So will you remove NSO from what's called 'the blacklist'?" Israel Hayom asked him, and Friedman responded, "I have several goals from the moment I start the position. One is generally to grow the company. And second, to rehabilitate and promote its credibility among clients and in the global market. I hope people will understand that all of NSO's goals are to do good, prevent crime, and prevent terrorist attacks. That's what the company exists for. So I will try. I intend to present to the US government the argument that NSO is an asset America needs and in America's interest. NSO will make America safer than it is now. I hope to present that argument. I cannot predict what will happen, and I don't want to discuss the outcome further."
Friedman again denied claims that NSO violated international law, as was alleged against it at the time. He explained, "NSO grants countries licenses to use its technology. It receives assurances from those countries that the technology will be used only for legitimate purposes, such as stopping crime and terror. Many years ago, there were cases where claims arose that the technology was used for improper purposes, like spying on journalists or political rivals. NSO never approved that and never agreed to it. The contract with them prohibited it, and it took appropriate steps to prevent it. So it wasn't the technology that caused these things to happen, but improper use by the clients. Today, we have very strong tools, protocols, and procedures to ensure this won't happen in the future. However, even in the past, it's akin to a manufacturer providing weapons to a country. It doesn't fire the gun and doesn't operate the bomb. So such things happen, and I hope they won't happen again. But the criticism of NSO, even then, was unfair."
