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WhatsApp has filed suit against Israeli spyware maker NSO Group in a US lawsuit over NSO’s misuse of the messaging app to hack into the phones of journalists, activists and dissidents using its Pegasus hacking tool. I won the case.
A judge in the Northern District of California ruled Friday that NSO violated hacking laws and the terms of its service agreement with WhatsApp by using the messaging platform to inject Pegasus spyware into more than 1,000 devices.
The civil suit’s ruling does not address the rights of individuals whose phones have been hacked, but it is a victory for technology groups seeking to stop groups from exploiting their platforms to target users.
This is also a victory for Apple, Amazon, and other tech giants who supported WhatsApp’s lawsuit.
Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled that NSO Group found that “the court finds no merit in the arguments raised.” The summary judgment means that future trials will only address the issue of damages, not whether NSO is liable for its actions.
“After five years of litigation, we are grateful for today’s decision,” WhatsApp said. “NSO can no longer escape responsibility for illegal attacks on WhatsApp, journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society.”
NSO Group did not respond to requests for comment.
Pegasus can read encrypted messages stored on your phone, remotely turn on your camera and microphone, and track your location. Its use has been linked to human rights violations, and the US Department of Commerce has blacklisted Israeli companies.
The lawsuit was launched following a 2019 Financial Times report that coincided with WhatsApp’s discovery that its services had been hacked by NSO and Pegasus.
In the ruling, NSO Group did not dispute that it “must have reverse engineered and/or decompiled the WhatsApp software” in order to hack the phones, but that it could have done so before agreeing to WhatsApp’s terms of service. He said he brought up sexuality.
However, the judge said that “common sense dictates that[NSO]must first have access to the WhatsApp software” and that NSO “has no plausible explanation for why it was able to gain access without agreeing to the terms of service”. There was no such thing.” The court ruled in favor of WhatsApp’s claims that NSO violated federal and state hacking laws.
The judge also found that NSO “repeatedly failed to make relevant discoveries,” including in relation to Pegasus’ source code.
“This is going to be a precedent that will be cited for years to come,” said John Scott Railton, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Research Institute who has investigated the use of Pegasus.
“This is the highest-profile case involving mercenary spyware, and will be on everyone’s radar. It is a sign of the efforts of other dubious spyware companies to enter the U.S. market and the interest of investors who support their hacks.” I predict it will have a chilling effect.”
