NSO Founders Face Espionage Charges in Landmark Lawsuit
In Barcelona, a lawyer filed a lawsuit against the founders and an executive of NSO Group, accusing them of being involved in espionage attacks. This marks the first case where charges have been brought against the company and specific individuals behind its operations.
The human rights organization Irídia, based in Barcelona, announced that it had submitted a complaint to a Catalonian court against NSO founders Omri Lavie and Shalev Hulio, as well as Yuval Sumech, an executive overseeing two affiliated entities. The lawsuit alleges their complicity in cyber espionage activities.
The case has been filed on behalf of Andreu Van den Eynde, a lawyer and professor specializing in cybersecurity. According to Citizen Lab, he was among the victims of a surveillance campaign in 2022 targeting Catalan advocates for regional independence. The operation employed NSO’s Pegasus spyware, a finding corroborated by Amnesty International.
Previously, lawsuits had been directed solely at NSO and its subsidiaries, Osy Technologies and Q Cyber Technologies. Now, the plaintiffs are seeking to hold Lavie, Hulio, and Sumech personally accountable. In its statement, Irídia emphasized that by spying on Van den Eynde, the perpetrators also accessed his contacts and confidential legal materials.
The lawsuit claims that the three NSO executives were allegedly involved in the sale and deployment of illegal surveillance software without judicial oversight. NSO declined to comment, and neither Shalev Hulio nor Omri Lavie responded to journalists’ inquiries.
Van den Eynde expressed his dismay at being subjected to espionage, noting that he would have preferred to focus on his professional endeavors.
Meanwhile, other surveillance victims are urging the Spanish government to disclose details of the espionage campaign. In 2020, it emerged that Spanish intelligence may have used Pegasus to monitor Catalan politicians. Spanish authorities maintain that their actions were fully compliant with the law and authorized by the Supreme Court.
