Rod Rosenstein is working with NSO Group
Rod Rosenstein, a former deputy attorney general at the
Department of Justice, has been providing counsel on cybersecurity and national
security to NSO Group, the Israeli software surveillance firm accused of spying
on human rights activists and journalists, according to court documents
obtained by CyberScoop.
Rosenstein’s work with NSO Group was revealed in court
documents in relation to a lawsuit WhatsApp filed against the company, accusing
them of surveilling over 1,000 WhatsApp users.
“I have counseled NSO about cyber and national security
issues and assisted the defense team” in the WhatsApp v. NSO Group case,
Rosenstein said in the signed declaration.
Rosenstein has been employed by King & Spalding, the
firm representing NSO Group, since January of this year. He previously served
as deputy attorney general from 2017 through May 2019.
The filing is an attempt to rebut WhatsApp’s claims that
King & Spalding has a conflict of interest in the case because it has
represented NSO’s opponent, WhatsApp, in a different case. WhatsApp’s parent
company, Facebook, claims King & Spalding’s past work with WhatsApp should
disqualify the firm from working on the current lawsuit. That case remains
under seal.
The revelation that Rosenstein has been advising NSO Group
and its defense team against accusations of spying stands in stark contrast to
some of Rosenstein’s work at the DOJ, where he prosecuted foreign hackers and
characterized the murder of Khashoggi as “lawless.”
His involvement in the WhatsApp case also raises questions
about what knowledge Rosenstein has about the FBI investigation into NSO Group,
which was opened in 2017.
NSO Group has been accused of creating and selling a mobile
spyware tool that’s been used against journalists, human rights activists, and
political dissidents around the world. Most notably, NSO Group’s software had
allegedly been used to spy on associates of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi
before his murder in 2018. NSO has denied the claims and says that it only sells
its tools to governments and intelligence agencies for legitimate purposes,
such as tracking down terrorists.
NSO Group reportedly has other connections with the Trump
administration. David Zolet, a former
director of NSO Group’s U.S. branch, simultaneously worked with Trump
administration officials on FirstNet, the encrypted nationwide network for
first responders, according to Forensic News.
NSO Group did not return requests for comment on
Rosenstein’s declaration. WhatsApp declined to comment.
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