Landmark ruling favors WhatsApp in legal fight against government-grade spyware company

A U.S. judge has dealt a major blow to Meta-owned WhatsApp in a lawsuit accusing Israel’s NSO Group of exploiting a vulnerability in the messaging app to install unauthorized spyware. remember Pegasus And the scandal from five years ago?

At least 1,400 people were targeted, including journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents. This naughty spyware can be installed on your smartphone simply by making a phone call, even if the call goes unanswered. The spyware Pegasus was developed by the Israeli NSO Group and is commonly used by governments for surveillance purposes.

Now, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, has ruled that NSO is liable for the hack and breach of contract, allowing the case to proceed to trial solely on the issue of damages. Reuters Report.

WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart called the ruling a major victory for privacy. He emphasized that the company’s five-year legal battle was aimed at holding spyware companies accountable, arguing that these companies should not evade responsibility or claim immunity from illegal activities. I think we can all agree on that. A WhatsApp spokesperson expressed gratitude to the court for its decision.

Cybersecurity experts welcomed the ruling, calling it an important moment for the spyware industry. John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, which first exposed NSO’s Pegasus spyware in 2016, described the ruling as a landmark decision. He noted that the spyware industry often denies responsibility for how its tools are used, but the ruling clarifies liability for companies like NSO that violate legal standards.

The lawsuit, launched by WhatsApp in 2019, accuses NSO of using its Pegasus software to illegally access WhatsApp servers, targeting 1,400 people, including journalists, human rights activists and dissidents.