--- description: Israel said it will tighten supervision over the sale of cybersecurity exports following a series of scandals title: Israel Tightens Rules on Cyber Exports After String of Scandals image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8e253d5c37e9c72/698a2064457a52974cd65e09/GettyImages-1236496832.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Israel](/tag/israel/) ## Israel Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Israel Tightens Rules on Cyber Exports After String of Scandals by [Yaacov Benmeleh / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Yaacov Benmeleh / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 6, 2021 8:02 PM CUT  SAPIR, ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 11: A woman walks by the building entrance of Israeli cyber company NSO Group at one of its branches in the Arava Desert on November 11, 2021 in Sapir, Israel. SAPIR, ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 11: A woman walks by the building entrance of Israeli cyber company NSO Group at one of its branches in the Arava Desert on November 11, 2021 in Sapir, Israel.Amir Levy/Getty Images by [Yaacov Benmeleh / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Yaacov Benmeleh / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 6, 2021 8:02 PM CUT Israel said it will tighten supervision over the sale of cybersecurity exports, a decision that comes after a string of scandals involving foreign governments allegedly abusing technology developed by Israeli firms like NSO Group to spy on civilians. Countries will only be able to buy Israeli technology after signing a declaration that they will use it “for the investigation and prevention of terrorist acts and serious crimes only,” Israel’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday. Violators of the new terms could be banned from using those technologies, the ministry said. **Read more:** [_Pegasus Spyware Reportedly Hacked Thousands of iPhones Worldwide. Here’s What to Know_](https://time.com/6081622/pegasus-iphone-spyware-hack/ "undefined") Foreign governments such as in Mexico and Saudi Arabia have allegedly used NSO’s Pegasus software to hack mobile phones of journalists and dissidents. A number of U.S. State Department employees [were also recently hacked](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-03/u-s-state-department-employees-said-to-be-targeted-with-spyware "undefined") with NSO spyware. The U.S. [blacklisted](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-03/u-s-blacklists-israel-s-nso-group-other-firms-over-cyber-acts "undefined") NSO earlier this month. **Read more:** [_Governments Used Spyware to Surveil Journalists and Activists. Here’s Why Revelations About Pegasus Are Shaking Up the World_](https://time.com/6081433/pegasus-spyware-monitored-journalists-activists/ "undefined") Pegasus is malware that allows clients to gain access to a target’s mobile phone. NSO maintains that the techhnology is intended only for governments and law enforcement to hunt down criminals and terrorists. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6126050/israel-cyber-export-rules-nso-group/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6126050/israel-cyber-export-rules-nso-group/"},"headline":"Israel Tightens Rules on Cyber Exports After String of Scandals","datePublished":"2021-12-06T20:02:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:52:34.223Z","description":"The decision follows a string of scandals involving foreign governments allegedly abusing technology developed by Israeli firms to spy on civilians","url":"https://time.com/6126050/israel-cyber-export-rules-nso-group/","keywords":["Israel","Tech","News","wire","Londontime","biztech2030","bloomberg wire"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8e253d5c37e9c72/698a2064457a52974cd65e09/GettyImages-1236496832.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Yaacov Benmeleh / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8e253d5c37e9c72/698a2064457a52974cd65e09/GettyImages-1236496832.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NSO Group Offices In Israel","caption":"NSO Group Offices In Israel","creditText":"Amir Levy/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/israel/","name":"Israel"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6126050/israel-cyber-export-rules-nso-group/","name":"Israel Tightens Rules on Cyber Exports After String of Scandals"}}]}] ```