Registry
Does Candiru (Saito Tech Ltd.) support Israel?
Yes — Candiru (Saito Tech Ltd.) has documented support for Israel on record. Every claim below links to its source.
Filed under: Tech companies · Companies that support Israel
Background
Candiru is one of the most secretive companies on this site: it has no public website, has changed its registered name five times and speaks publicly almost never. It is listed here because it is an Israeli company in Tel Aviv whose exports are licensed by Israel's Ministry of Defense — not because of any donation, of which we found none. On 15 July 2021 The Citizen Lab and Microsoft published parallel findings: more than 750 websites tied to Candiru infrastructure, many impersonating organisations such as Amnesty International, and Windows spyware whose analysis led Microsoft to patch two privilege-escalation vulnerabilities. Microsoft counted victims in Palestine, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Armenia and Singapore, and reported clients including Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Singapore. Four months later the US Commerce Department added Candiru to the Entity List, restricting US technology exports to it. Alleged misuse of the company's tools by the foreign governments that bought them is a question about those buyers; it is not evidence of support for Israel and is not treated as such here.
The Citizen Lab — 'Hooking Candiru' (15 Jul 2021) Al Jazeera (15 Jul 2021) US Federal Register (govinfo) — Entity List rule, 4 Nov 2021
Timeline of documented support
Documented support
| Type | Date | Amount | Recipient | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations in Israel | 2014 | — | State of Israel (employment, taxes, cyber-industry base) Israeli company: Candiru was founded in Tel Aviv in 2014 and develops spyware marketed as untraceable, sold exclusively to government customers and licensed by the number of devices that may be infected at once. The company has repeatedly changed its registered name — Candiru Ltd. (2014), DF Associates Ltd. (2017), Grindavik Solutions Ltd. (2018), Taveta Ltd. (2019) and, since 2020, Saito Tech Ltd. — while remaining the same Tel Aviv business. Its Israeli nationality is stated in US government documents: the Commerce Department's November 2021 Entity List rule calls it one of 'the Israeli companies NSO Group and Candiru.' | |
| Operations in Israel | 2021-11-04 | — | Israeli Ministry of Defense — Defense Export Control Agency (DECA) Candiru sells its spyware only to foreign governments, and under Israeli law that kind of offensive cyber capability is treated as a controlled defence export: each sale requires a licence issued by the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Defense Export Control Agency. Israel's Defence Ministry has publicly defended that licensing system for the sector, saying such cyber products are exported for lawful use only. The United States records the consequence in official language: its Entity List rule of 4 November 2021 states that 'the Israeli companies NSO Group and Candiru developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used this tool to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers.' The relationship recorded here is regulatory — an Israeli-licensed exporter operating under Israeli state control — not a donation. |
Frequently asked questions
Did Candiru (Saito Tech Ltd.) donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?
We have no records of cash donations, but Candiru (Saito Tech Ltd.) has documented support of other kinds (Operations in Israel). See the records on this page.
Where does this information come from?
Every record on this page links to its source — news reports, official company statements, tax filings, or government records. 4 distinct sources are cited for Candiru (Saito Tech Ltd.). Our methodology page explains the full verification process.
Sources & citations
Record last updated: 2026-07-30
- The Citizen Lab — 'Hooking Candiru' (15 Jul 2021) citizenlab.ca
- US Federal Register (govinfo) — Entity List rule, 4 Nov 2021 govinfo.gov
- Al Jazeera (15 Jul 2021) aljazeera.com
- Reuters (Jul 2021 — Israeli Defence Ministry on cyber exports) reuters.com