NSO Group & Intellexa

How state Trojans play into the hands of the Russians

More and more governments are keen to be able to look into the cell phones of suspicious citizens - a million-dollar business for the manufacturers of so-called "state Trojans". However, the politicians' desire for surveillance has an unpleasant side effect, the consequences of which the supporters and purchasers of state spyware are not always aware of.

Anyone who wants to look into the cell phones of their citizens needs hacking skills - and really good ones at that, as smartphone messengers now communicate in encrypted form and mobile operating systems such as Android or iOS are constantly being hardened with security updates. While major powers such as the USA, China or Russia undoubtedly have such knowledge, the situation is worse for smaller countries - and they therefore often rely on private-sector suppliers who deliver their spyware "turnkey" and stockpile secret security vulnerabilities. Obviously, the possibility of cyber weapons falling into the wrong hands - such as those of Putin's hackers - cannot be ruled out.