US Court Orders NSO Group to Surrender Spyware Code to WhatsApp in Landmark Litigation

Bernard Aybout (Virii8)

2 years ago

US Court Orders NSO Group to Surrender Spyware Code to WhatsApp in Landmark Litigation. A US court has mandated NSO Group, the creator of the Pegasus spyware, to submit its software code for Pegasus and other surveillance tools to WhatsApp, marking a significant chapter in the ongoing legal battle between the two entities. This directive, issued by Judge Phyllis Hamilton, represents a significant win for WhatsApp, owned by Meta, which has been entangled in a lawsuit with NSO since 2019 following allegations that NSO’s spyware was deployed against 1,400 of its users within a fortnight.

The court’s order for NSO to provide the code for its spyware, considered highly secretive and valuable, comes amid strict oversight from the Israeli defense ministry, which scrutinizes and approves all sales of NSO’s products to international governments.

Judge Hamilton made her ruling despite NSO’s request to be exempted from revealing evidence in the case, citing US and Israeli legal constraints. She ruled in favor of WhatsApp, requiring NSO to disclose “all relevant spyware” utilized one year before and after the alleged attack on WhatsApp users, spanning from April 29, 2018, to May 10, 2020. NSO is also to furnish details on the spyware’s complete capabilities.

However, Hamilton ruled in NSO’s favor regarding the non-disclosure of its clients’ identities and server architecture details at this juncture.

US Court Orders NSO Group to Surrender Spyware Code to WhatsApp in Landmark Litigation

WhatsApp has hailed the ruling as a critical step towards safeguarding users from unauthorized intrusions, emphasizing the accountability of spyware firms and other malevolent entities to the law. NSO has refrained from commenting on the court’s decision, with the legal proceedings still underway.

Pegasus, NSO’s flagship product, is capable of infiltrating any mobile device, granting comprehensive access to calls, emails, photos, location data, and encrypted messages without the user’s awareness. The US blacklisted NSO in 2021, citing its activities as detrimental to America’s foreign policy and national security interests.

Despite NSO’s claim that its products are designed to aid law enforcement and national security efforts by tracking terrorists and serious criminals, the Biden administration has expressed concern over the misuse of spyware like Pegasus, acknowledging the risks they pose to US security and intelligence operations. In response, the administration announced a policy in early February to impose visa restrictions on individuals implicated in the abuse of commercial spyware, extending to entities within the EU and Israel.