US government tracks mobile phones around the world: NYT

Under the secret contract finalized on Nov 8, 2021, the Israeli firm, NSO Group, gave the US government access to one of its most powerful weapons - a geolocation tool that can covertly track mobile phones around the world without the phone user's knowledge or consent, reported The New York Times (NYT) on Sunday.

According to the contract, the US government can use NSO Group's geolocation hacking tool, which the company calls Landmark. US government officials have access to a special NSO portal that allowed them to type in mobile phone numbers to accurately pinpoint the phone's location without the phone user's knowledge or consent.

Two insiders stated that, under the contract, the US conducted at least thousands of inquiries on mobile phone users in at least one country, Mexico, according to the article.

Only five days before the contract was signed, Nov 3, 2021, the Biden government announced that the Israeli NSO Group would be placed on a Commerce Department blacklist, declaring the company a national security threat and sending the message that American companies should stop doing business with it, added the authors.