In a detailed written response to The Globe, Mr. Krishnamurthy said he regrets working on behalf of NSO for the Foley Hoag law firm during a five-month period in 2019, but said he did so in the belief that the company’s new ownership was genuinely interested in reform. He also noted that it is common for companies with poor human rights records to hire lawyers and consultants for advice on how to improve.
Mr. Deibert, who also declined that invitation, told The Globe that Mr. Krishnamurthy’s interactions with him were inappropriate and his work on behalf of the NSO ”should disqualify him from any work in the public interest.” In 2021, the U.S. Commerce department placed trade restrictions on the NSO Group, saying it “supplied spyware to foreign governments that used this tool to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers.”
Among them, former justice minister and former University of Ottawa president Allan Rock said Mr. Krishnamurthy is a highly ethical individual who was acting appropriately in his capacity as a lawyer giving advice to a client. “The advocacy work by Access Now and CIPPIC centred on the growth of cloud computing centres in countries that systematically fail to protect human rights,” Access Now general counsel Peter Micek said. ”We do not have further joint projects planned, and we are reviewing our relationship with Vivek Krishnamurthy and CIPPIC in light of these revelations.”