Criticism hypocritical, blacklisting by America will be rescinded: NSO

"I absolutely sleep soundly at night," said Shalev Hulio, Chief Executive Officer of NSO Group

Israel's embattled cyber tech company NSO Group has denied wrongdoing as it called criticism of its sale of Pegasus spyware programme to non-democratic countries "hypocritical," comparing the surveillance technology to military weapons systems being sold by others, amid mounting allegations that software was misused globally, including in Israel.

An undeterred Chief Executive Officer of NSO Group, Shalev Hulio, in an interview to Israeli Channel 12 on Saturday, strongly defended the company's operations, though he also conceded that some "mistakes" may have happened over the years.

"I absolutely sleep soundly at night,” Hulio said.

Hulio's interview came a day after a New York Times report on Friday claimed that India bought Pegasus spyware as part of a $2 billion defence deal with Israel in 2017, triggering a major controversy with the Opposition alleging that the government indulged in illegal snooping that amounted to "treason".

"There is not one country we've sold to, not one… that the US does not sell to, or that Israel doesn't sell to. So it's a bit hypocritical to say it's okay to sell F-35s and tanks and drones, but it's not okay to sell a tool that collects intelligence,” Hulio said, defending the company's position.