US defence firm L3 Harris ends talks to buy NSO Group's surveillance technology
Source: The Guardian
US defence firm ends talks to buy NSO Group’s surveillance technology
White House opposition on security grounds seen as fatal obstacle to L3 Harris proceeding with purchase
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
@skirchy
Sun 10 Jul 2022 18.05 EDT
Last modified on Sun 10 Jul 2022 18.44 EDT
The American defence contractor L3 Harris has abandoned talks to acquire NSO Group’s surveillance technology after the White House said any potential deal raised “serious counterintelligence and security concerns for the US government”.
The White House opposition, which was first reported by the Guardian and its media partners last month, was seen as an insurmountable obstacle to any transaction, according to a person familiar with the talks who said the potential acquisition was now “certainly” off the table.
The news, which is being reported by the Guardian, Washington Post and Haaretz, follows a tumultuous period for the Israeli surveillance company, which was placed on a US blacklist by president Joe Biden’s administration last November after the commerce department’s bureau of industry and security determined that the firm had acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US”.
A person familiar with the talks said L3 Harris had vetted any potential deal for NSO’s technology with its customers in the US government and had received some signals of support from the American intelligence community.
A US official appeared to question that characterisation ...
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/10/us-defence-firm-ends-talks-to-buy-nso-groups-surveillance-technology