NSO Group, an Israeli spyware company is known to have succeeded in breaking into software loopholes on iPhones in 2021. Apparently, there are other spyware companies that can exploit the same loopholes.
The second company is QuaDream, a competitor to the NSO Group who is also from Israel. According to a Reuters report, QuadDream is a smaller, low-profile spy company, but has the same hacking capabilities as the NSO Group.
Not surprising since QuadDream was founded by two former NSO employees. His name is not as well known as NSO, but QuaDream is known to be able to exploit the same security vulnerability in Apple's software to help its clients break into iPhones.
QuaDream sells zero-click exploits, a very subtle form of cyberattack that allows you to hack into your phone without relying on a malicious link. According to expert analysis, NSO Group and QuadDream used the same software exploit to hijack the iPhone, ForcedEntry.
If NSO Group's main selling point is Pegasus spyware, then QuaDream has a product called REIGN. This spyware has terrible capabilities like taking over control of your phone, retrieving messages from WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal, as well as emails, photos, SMS, and contacts.
REIGN also has a 'Premium Collection' version whose capabilities include recording phone calls in real time, activating the front and rear cameras, and activating the microphone.
Not much is currently known about the QuadDream client. Their spyware is widely used by the governments of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Singapore to spy on their targets.
Documents seen by Reuters also reveal that QuadDream's spy technology was once offered to the Indonesian government. But it is not known whether Indonesia is one of his clients.
Israel is known as one of the centers of the spyware and spy industry. Recently, four Israeli spy companies, including CobWebs Technologies, Bluehawk CI, Cognyte, and Black Cube, were kicked out of the Facebook platform after being caught spying on dozens of users.
Apple itself last year sued the NSO Group for violating the terms and Apple's user service agreement by conducting hacking experiments. The legal case between the two is still at an early stage.