01:49 PM EDT, 09/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Apple ( AAPL ) on Friday filed a motion to dismiss its lawsuit against NSO Group Technologies, an Israeli cyber-intelligence firm, citing risks associated with sharing its threat-intelligence information with third parties.

Apple ( AAPL ) sued NSO Group in November 2021 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that NSO targeted Apple ( AAPL ) users by infecting Apple ( AAPL ) products and servers with malware and spyware.

Since then, events have "reshaped the risk landscape" of sharing its threat-intelligence information, which Apple ( AAPL ) uses to protect its users, Apple ( AAPL ) said in a court document.

The company cited three specific developments that influenced its decision to file a motion to dismiss the case.

First, Apple ( AAPL ) said it has continued to develop threat-intelligence information that, if compromised, "would severely undermine the effectiveness of Apple's ( AAPL ) program and ability to protect its users."

Second, NSO has been supplanted by an increasing number of spyware companies, meaning that even if Apple ( AAPL ) earned a total victory in the lawsuit, other spyware companies would be able to continue their "destructive tactics," Apple ( AAPL ) said.

Third, citing a July article in The Guardian that stated that Israeli officials seized documents from NSO Group about its Pegasus spyware, Apple ( AAPL ) said it is concerned that it would not be able to obtain the discovery it needs for the case.

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