"iPhone flaw exploited by second Israeli spy firm-sources" 3 February 2022

A flaw in Apple's software exploited by Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group to break into iPhones in 2021 was simultaneously abused by a competing company, according to five people familiar with the matter.

QuaDream, the sources said, is a smaller and lower profile Israeli firm that also develops smartphone hacking tools intended for government clients...

...Experts analyzing intrusions engineered by NSO Group and QuaDream since last year believe the two companies used very similar software exploits, known as ForcedEntry, to hijack iPhones. An exploit is computer code designed to leverage a set of specific software vulnerabilities, giving a hacker unauthorized access to data....

...QuaDream's flagship product - called REIGN - could take control of a smartphone, scooping up instant messages from services such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal, as well as emails, photos, texts and contacts, according to two product brochures from 2019 and 2020 which were reviewed by Reuters...

...Several of QuaDream's buyers have also overlapped with NSO's, four of the sources said, including Saudi Arabia and Mexico - both of whom have been accused of misusing spy software to target political opponents. One of QuaDream's first clients was the Singaporean government, two of the sources said, and documentation reviewed by Reuters shows the company's surveillance technology was pitched to the Indonesian government as well. Reuters couldn't determine if Indonesia became a client.

Mexican, Singaporean, Indonesian and Saudi officials did not return messages seeking comment about QuaDream...

...QuaDream was founded in 2016 by Ilan Dabelstein, a former Israeli military official, and by two former NSO employees, Guy Geva and Nimrod Reznik, according to Israeli corporate records and two people familiar with the business. Reuters could not reach the three executives for comment...

...Reuters made repeated attempts to reach QuaDream for comment, sending messages to executives and business partners. A Reuters journalist last week visited QuaDream’s office, in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, but no one answered the door. Israeli lawyer Vibeke Dank, whose email was listed on QuaDream's corporate registration form, also did not return repeated messages.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on QuaDream or say what if any action they planned to take with regard to the company....