🕵️♂️ The Israeli Spyware Machine: How NSO Group Keeps Beating Apple at Its Own Game
🍏 1. Apple: The World’s Most Secure Consumer Device?
That’s the tagline. But one company has made a career out of proving otherwise: NSO Group, the infamous Israeli firm behind Pegasus spyware. Their specialty? Breaching iPhones using zero-day and zero-click exploits — no taps, no downloads, just silent takeover.
Founded in 2010, NSO Group is the real-life Spectre — except instead of lasers, they use PDFs. And they’ve made it their mission to bypass Apple security with ruthless precision.
💥 2. FORCEDENTRY & BlastPass: The Crown Jewel of Exploits
In 2021, researchers at Citizen Lab uncovered FORCEDENTRY, an exploit that allowed iPhones to be infected via iMessage — simply by receiving a maliciously crafted image.
No taps, no warning, no hope.
Apple patched it in iOS 14.8. But NSO wasn’t done. In 2022 and 2023, at least three more zero-click exploits were discovered in the wild, targeting iPhones running iOS 15 and 16 — notably one dubbed BlastPass.
“NSO used at least three different exploit chains in just 12 months. That's military-grade agility.”— Hacker News commenter (source)
⚖️ 3. Apple Sued NSO Group. But the Hacks Keep Coming
In November 2021, Apple filed suit against NSO Group, with Craig Federighi stating:
“State-sponsored actors like NSO spend millions on sophisticated surveillance. Their operations lack any effective accountability.”(Apple Newsroom)
Apple sought a permanent injunction to prevent NSO from using Apple software, services, or devices — essentially banning them from the ecosystem.
It didn’t stop the exploits. It didn’t even slow them down.
🧠 4. NSO’s Secret Weapon: The Smartest People in the Industry
According to insider sources, NSO’s recruitment standards are unreal:
Double PhDs in mathematics and cybersecurity
Mandatory black hat experience working with MS-DOS (yes, really), Windows, Linux, and Android
Most had their first job in underground hacking circles, not tech unicorns
“Without those qualifications, you simply don’t get hired.”
And the pay? You won't believe it:
“NSO engineers are paid 10x more than Apple engineers — just to break Apple systems all day.”
Forget Swift. Forget UI polish. These elite minds wake up, fire up IDA Pro, and start pen-testing Apple’s codebase like it’s a game.
“You won’t believe this, but NSO’s entire job description for engineers could be: ‘Break Apple. Get paid.’”
NSO doesn’t build software. It weaponizes software. And its staff is composed of people who could be tenured professors — but chose war over academia.
💰 5. Budget Wars: NSO vs Apple
Here’s the real kicker.
“NSO’s R&D budget is one-third of Apple’s entire R&D budget, but it’s 100% focused on breaking iPhones.”— Former Apple employee
Apple spent ~$30 billion on R&D in 2024. That means NSO is investing $8–10 billion per year — not to build chips or AI models, but to break Apple’s stuff.
Company
Focus
Annual R&D Budget
Apple
OS, chips, AI, services
$30 billion
NSO Group
Zero-day research vs Apple
$10 billion
“It’s David vs Goliath — except David has a $10B zero-day bazooka.”
📱 6. WhatsApp’s $168M Win Over NSO
In a landmark ruling, Meta (WhatsApp) won a $168 million verdict against NSO in 2025 for hacking ~1,400 users via a video call vulnerability.
“This verdict puts a price tag on the abuse of spyware. And it’s steep.”— Politico
But NSO’s clients — and tools — remain active.
🧪 7. How NSO Keeps Winning
Unit 8200 roots: Most NSO engineers served in Israel’s top cyber-intelligence division.
In-house iPhone farms: Rows of devices run every iOS build for testing.
Zero-click methodology: NSO pioneered exploits that require zero user interaction.
“Pegasus can record audio even when the mic is off. Welcome to real-world cyberpunk.”— Reddit, r/technology
📡 8. Community Chatter: Hacker News & Reddit
Here’s what the tech world says:
“NSO Group: making cyberweapons for the highest bidder since 2010.”— Hacker News
“Apple sending threat alerts is now a badge of honor.”— Reddit, r/apple
“If Apple can’t secure the iPhone, no one can.”— Reddit, r/netsec
“Citizen Lab should get a Nobel Peace Prize at this point.”— Reddit, r/privacy
🤖 9. Beyond NSO: The Spyware Industrial Complex
NSO isn’t alone:
QuaDream: Founded by ex-NSO staff; used similar iMessage exploits.
Candiru: Specializes in browser-based Apple/Windows/Linux infections.
Together, they form what Citizen Lab calls the mercenary spyware industrial complex — with dozens of governments as customers.
🛑 10. Tim Cook & Apple’s Response
Tim Cook hasn't mentioned NSO by name, but he has gone on record saying:
“If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on surveillance — it does not deserve our praise. It deserves reform.”
In response, Apple launched Lockdown Mode in iOS 16 — designed for users targeted by Pegasus-style spyware.
“By the time Lockdown Mode was introduced, dozens of journalists had already been compromised.”— Citizen Lab
🧱 11. Final Thoughts: This Is Cyberwarfare
Apple is building castles. NSO is building siege engines.
The truth is: iPhones are still the most secure consumer devices. But security is a race, not a destination. And NSO is running full sprint — with ten times the brains and billions of dollars to fund the marathon.
“NSO’s job is to break Apple. That’s it. And they’re really, really good at it.”