After Pegasus affair, Israeli tech companies fear US blacklisting

The announcement by the US Department of Commerce that it was placing Israeli cybersecurity companies on its blacklist sent shockwaves through Israel’s entire cyber sector. The industry, with tools used both offensively and defensively, is considered one of the best in the world.

The concern now is that being on the US blacklist will have an immediate impact on an industry that is a major player in the Israeli economy. On the other hand, the fact that these companies’ successes have elicited such a sharp response from the Americans could increase demand for their other cyber products, most of them used as security tools.

So far, the Commerce Department has announced that two Israeli companies, NSO and Candiru, would be added to a list of groups that operate against the national interests of the United States. Their products, says the Commerce Department, are being used by authoritarian regimes to suppress local democratic forces: “These tools have also enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression, which is the practice of authoritarian governments targeting dissidents, journalists and activists outside of their sovereign borders to silence dissent.”

What the decision means in practical terms is that the companies in question will need to obtain a special license to do business in the United States. Also, it will be harder for them to use any American services whatsoever, from accounting programs to the cloud. Furthermore, it is not at all certain that they will be able to obtain the special license in the first place. The US government has become especially sensitive after news leaked of an extensive cyberattack against the company Solar Winds and through it many government agencies in the United States. Apparently, the attack itself originated with hackers tied to Russia.