A US judge has ruled that Israeli spyware maker NSO Group violated hacking laws by using WhatsApp to secretly infect devices with the Pegasus spyware.
In a landmark ruling Friday, a Northern California federal judge targeted the devices of 1,400 WhatsApp users, upholding state and federal hacking laws and WhatsApp's terms of service that prohibit the use of the messaging platform for malicious purposes. The court held that NSO Group was responsible for violating the law. .
The ruling comes five years after Meta-owned WhatsApp sued NSO Group, alleging that the spyware organization exploited a vulnerability in the messaging platform's voice calls to install Pegasus spyware on the devices of unsuspecting users. It was done. WhatsApp said that in addition to government officials and diplomats, more than 100 human rights defenders, journalists and “other members of civil society” were targeted by the malware.
In her ruling, Judge Phyllis Hamilton did not dispute that NSO “must reverse engineer and/or decompile the WhatsApp software” in order to install Pegasus spyware on devices, but agreed with the ruling. He said he had raised questions about whether he had done so before. WhatsApp Terms of Use.
However, the judge said, “Common sense suggests that [NSO] “He must have accessed WhatsApp first,” NSO said, adding that there was “no plausible explanation” for how he was able to access it without agreeing to its terms of service.
Mr Hamilton also said NSO had repeatedly failed to produce relevant evidence, including Pegasus' source code, despite court orders demanding its extradition. He said NSO also refused to produce internal communications, including communications regarding WhatsApp vulnerabilities.
“NSO's failure to comply with the discovery order raises serious concerns about NSO's transparency and willingness to cooperate with the judicial process,” the judge said.
In a statement given to TechCrunch, Meta spokesperson Emily Westcott said WhatsApp welcomed Friday's ruling.
“NSO can no longer escape responsibility for its illegal attacks on WhatsApp, journalists, human rights defenders and civil society,” she said. “This judgment requires spyware companies to realize that illegal activity will not be tolerated. We are proud to have stood up against NSO and would like to thank the many organizations that supported this case. WhatsApp will never stop working to protect people's private communications.”
WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart called the ruling a “huge victory for privacy” in a post on X.
NSO spokesperson Gil Reiner declined to comment. NSO has previously claimed that Pegasus helps law enforcement and intelligence agencies fight crime and protect national security.
This landmark case will now go to trial in March 2025, where a jury will decide how much damages NSO Group should pay to WhatsApp.