It suggested its motivation was to “stay abreast of emerging technologies and tradecraft.”
The agency added in a statement that it obtained a limited license from the Israeli firm “for product testing and evaluation only,” never using it operationally or to support any investigation.
But critics wondered why the premier U.S. law enforcement agency would need to pay for access to a notorious surveillance tool that has been extensively researched by public interest cyber sleuths if its interest was so limited.
“Spending millions of dollars to line the pockets of a company that is widely known to serially facilitate widespread human rights abuses, possible criminal acts, and operations that threaten the U.S.’s own national security is definitely troubling,” said Ron Deibert, director of Citizen Lab, the University of Toronto internet watchdog that has exposed dozens of Pegasus hacks since 2016.
“At the very least, this seems like a terribly counterproductive, irresponsible, and ill-conceived way” to keep abreast of surveillance tech, he added.
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