[stevenjohns]

I'm willing to go one step further and say that NSO Group is operated by and is a core part of Israeli intelligence. It just has layers of deniability baked into the business structure like any good limited liability entity.

What it comes down to is that with NSO group:

1. Israel has access to the best 0-days it needs

2. The knowledge to develop further exploits is maintained within the Israeli intelligence apparatus

3. Israel is able to dominate the digital intelligence apparatus of autocratic regimes and, as a consequence, be able to defend itself against those tools

4. Israel is able to use it as a back channel for establishing and maintaining relationships, as well as exerting power and leverage on those nations

Given that it is an Israeli-government entity, much like the rest of the Israeli government, it is politically untouchable and buried under layers of denial. It's a direct, toxic exploitation of the relationship that Western countries maintain with Israel.