A US District Court has held the NSO Group accountable for utilizing its Pegasus spyware to compromise 1,400 devices via WhatsApp. This legal triumph for WhatsApp, a company owned by Meta, marks a significant stance against the unlawful use of spyware.
The court ruled that NSO Group, the Israeli firm behind Pegasus, was responsible for breaching federal US hacking laws and WhatsApp’s terms of service. As a result, the company violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the State of California’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act (CDAFA).
#FPWorld: A US judge ruled on Friday in favor of Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp in a lawsuit accusing Israel’s NSO Group of exploiting a bug in the messaging app to install spy software allowing unauthorized surveillance. https://t.co/5SAd26kknW
— Firstpost (@firstpost) December 23, 2024The ruling results in a trial scheduled for March 2025 to assess the damages owed by NSO Group. Both sides must inform the court before the damages trial by January 17, 2025, about any unresolved motions related to expert witnesses.
Read: NSO Group Found Liable for Using Pegasus for Hacking WhatsApp Users
WhatsApp’s Head, Will Cathcart, emphasized the significance of this ruling for privacy rights, celebrating it as a critical victory after a five-year legal battle. He asserted that this outcome sends a clear message to surveillance companies about the consequences of illegal spying activities.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇱 JUDGE SLAMS ISRAELI SPYWARE FIRM OVER WHATSAPP SPYWARE LAWSUIT
A federal judge sanctioned Israeli spyware firm NSO Group for dodging court orders in WhatsApp’s lawsuit over Pegasus, the spyware that allegedly hacked 1,400 phones, including those of journalists and… pic.twitter.com/5UhrPNmKkv
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 21, 2024The legal development follows the US Supreme Court’s decision two years earlier, which allowed WhatsApp to proceed with its lawsuit against NSO Group for exploiting a vulnerability in the messaging app to deploy spyware. The targeted surveillance affected various individuals, including journalists, politicians, and human rights activists.
Judge Phyllis Hamilton also pointed out NSO Group’s consistent failure to disclose the spyware’s source code to WhatsApp, a factor in the decision to sanction the company. This ruling underscores the courts’ intolerance for unauthorized surveillance and the invasion of privacy.
