FlagThis

A US Judge has ruled that NSO Group is liable for exploiting a vulnerability in WhatsApp to spy on 1,400 users. The court found NSO Group violated the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, and WhatsApp is entitled to sanctions against NSO. NSO Group’s spyware, Pegasus, was used to target victims. This ruling has been called a landmark and major victory for WhatsApp. NSO used a zero-click exploit in WhatsApp to target the users.

Unsealed court documents reveal that the NSO Group, developers of the Pegasus spyware, cut off access for 10 government clients due to misuse of the software. The documents also detail the existence of three exploits targeting WhatsApp users and estimate that Pegasus was deployed on hundreds to tens of thousands of devices. This highlights ongoing concerns around state-sponsored surveillance and the abuse of powerful spyware technologies.