UAE-backed Dream Security’s role in developing AI for surveillance and cybersecurity must be scrutinized

Skyline International for Human Rights (SIHR) expresses grave concern over recent reports revealing the emerging role of Dream Security, an Israeli cybersecurity company co-founded by former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Shalev Hulio, ex-CEO of NSO Group—the infamous company behind the notorious Pegasus spyware. Dream Security’s growing ties to an Abu Dhabi investor have raised urgent questions about its position within the global surveillance ecosystem and the potential for further misuse of intrusive technologies.

The company markets itself as a developer of AI-driven cybersecurity platforms designed to protect governments from cyberattacks. However, its focus on high-tech solutions have triggered alarms about the potential use of these technologies for surveillance operations, especially given its connections to NSO Group.

This development does not occur in a vacuum. Pegasus spyware has repeatedly been used to hack into the phones of journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and dissidents—including in the United Arab Emirates—in violation of international human rights standards. Its deployment has had a chilling effect on freedom of expression and privacy, particularly in the MENA region, where digital repression is deeply intertwined with broader patterns of political persecution.

Despite its denial of any connection to NSO Group, Dream Security reportedly employs individuals who previously worked at NSO and other firms involved in offensive cyber operations. The company’s opaque operational scope—particularly its lack of client transparency, its global presence in Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi, and its recruitment of “the best hackers in the world,” as Kurz has described—sparks serious concerns about the nature of its services and the potential to perpetuate the surveillance legacy of Pegasus under a new name. While Dream Security does not disclose its clients, it has stated that it sells to governments and businesses in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

These concerns are compounded by the firm’s financial ties to investors in the UAE, a government with a track record of weaponizing surveillance tools against human rights activists such as Ahmad Mansour. Furthermore, the legal and ethical baggage of the company’s founders intensifies these worries: Hulio faces criminal investigation in Spain for alleged complicity in Pegasus-related hacking, while Kurz has been convicted of perjury in Austria and remains under investigation for corruption allegations. Together, these issues cast a long shadow over Dream Security’s credibility and governance.

This situation underscores the urgent need for adherence to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which affirm that all companies, regardless of sector or size, have a responsibility to respect human rights. This duty is particularly critical in secretive and high-risk industries like surveillance technology, where the potential for abuse is high and mechanisms for oversight are often lacking or entirely absent. Therefore, Dream Security must uphold the standards of transparency, accountability, and conduct thorough human rights due diligence. This includes proactively identifying, assessing, and mitigating the human rights impacts of its technologies, disclosing relevant information to the public, and taking concrete steps to prevent misuse.

Investors also bear responsibility. They must ensure their portfolio companies respect human rights and avoid involvement in surveillance practices that expose them to legal, reputational, and financial risks. Public backing of opaque companies in sensitive sectors without due diligence undermines global accountability efforts and enables rights violations by proxy.

In light of these developments, SIHR stresses the urgent need for international regulation of surveillance technologies, including robust export controls and binding transparency mechanisms for private cybersecurity firms. We further urge immediate investigations into the role of Dream Security and its affiliates, along with a moratorium on the export and sale of intrusive surveillance technologies to governments in the MENA region until adequate legal and ethical safeguards are put in place.

Rebranding surveillance actors as cybersecurity entrepreneurs must not obscure the serious human rights risks their operations continue to pose. SIHR will continue to monitor developments related to Dream Security, focusing on its conduct, human rights compliance, and impact on digital rights in the MENA region.