In 2019, WhatsApp discovered that Pegasus spyware, created by the Israeli company NSO, was using a security flaw to infect its users' smartphones. Once installed, the software could steal messages, photos, and remotely activate the microphone or camera, without any action on the part of the user.
In large-scale espionage operations, governments have used Pegasus to keep tabs on journalists, activists, political opponents, and diplomats. According to Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, more than 1,400 smartphones have been compromised through vulnerabilities within the messaging service. After patching the flaws, Meta filed a lawsuit against NSO, the Israeli company that develops Pegasus, in a California court.
Meta Wins Case Against NSO
More than five years after the incident, a jury in Oakland, California, ruled in favor of Meta. The jurors ordered NSO Group to pay Meta nearly $168 million in damages. Specifically, the Israeli firm must pay $444,719 in damages, and $167.25 million in punitive damages. Last year, the courts already ruled that NSO was responsible for the WhatsApp attacks. All that remained was to determine the sentence.
Meta welcomed the US court's decision in a statement. The Menlo Park giant believes the penalty is "a critical deterrent to this malicious spyware industry.". The company added that "Today's verdict in the WhatsApp case marks an important step forward for the protection of privacy and security." This is the "first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware, which threatens everyone's privacy and security.".
Meta now intends to ask the Californian courts to formally prohibit the NSO group from targeting WhatsApp. Mark Zuckerberg's group has also published unofficial transcripts of the videos recorded during the trial, and has indicated that it intends to donate to digital rights organizations committed to protecting users against spyware.
NSO prepares a counterattack
For its part, NSO has indicated that it will appeal the court's decision. The company "will carefully examine the details of the verdict and seek appropriate legal remedies, including further proceedings and an appeal." For NSO, this is "another chapter in a long legal process." The company is clearly seeking to protect how it makes money. During the trial, NSO admitted to devising attack vectors by "decompiling WhatsApp's code" to "understand how to circumvent the security measures built into it." While Meta managed to win its case in court, Apple, one of Pegasus's other victims, chose to abandon its legal battle against NSO. A few months ago, the iPhone maker asked the court hearing the case to dismiss the complaint. Apple, keen to avoid disclosing information related to iPhone security, backed down, much to NSO's delight.
Source: Meta
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