Local media reported on Sunday that the CEO of Israeli spyware business NSO Group has resigned.
Shalev Hulio has resigned with immediate effect, and Chief Operating Officer Yaron Shohat will serve as an interim, an Israeli newspaper reported.
NSO Group has begun a reorganization that would result in the termination of 100 employees, according to an unnamed corporate representative.
In June, the Spanish High Court summoned Hulio to testify on a hacking scandal inquiry.
The NSO malware Pegasus, which allows hackers to access nearly all data sources on a mobile phone, was effectively employed against the Spanish prime minister and several ministries.
Most of the hacking occurred during the height of political tensions with Morocco, precipitated by Spain’s secret treatment of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, for COVID-19 in April 2021.
According to a revelation by the research organization Citizen Lab, 63 Catalan lawmakers were also targeted with Pegasus malware. The intelligence service of Spain has admitted accessing some of the phones but has not confirmed the use of malware.
According to NSO Group, all the company’s products, including the Pegasus spyware, are “exclusively employed by government intelligence and law enforcement organizations to combat crime and terrorism.”
