NSO Group Ordered to Pay WhatsApp $167 Million in Spyware Attack Case

By Netvora Tech News

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A federal jury in the United States has ordered NSO Group, a spyware provider, to pay WhatsApp $167 million in damages for a spyware attack that affected 14,000 users of the popular messaging app. WhatsApp sued NSO Group in 2019 after discovering that the company's Pegasus spyware had infected its users, including journalists, human rights activists, and government officials worldwide. Pegasus is a sophisticated spyware that allows attackers to spy on victims by accessing their microphones, cameras, and recording conversations and communications on various apps, including WhatsApp, Gmail, Viber, Facebook, Telegram, Skype, WeChat, and others. The spyware has been spreading since at least 2016, exploiting vulnerabilities in software without updates available at the time of the attack. The attack on WhatsApp users was made possible by an unknown security vulnerability in the app. A US judge ruled last December that NSO Group could be held liable for the attack, and now a federal jury has ordered the company to pay $167 million in damages. Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, plans to donate the damages to digital rights organizations that protect people from spyware attacks. Meta has also made public the statements NSO Group made in court, providing unprecedented insight into the company's business practices, exploit development, operations, and finances. John Scott-Railton, a spyware researcher at Citizen Lab, an organization that conducts research on spyware and supports victims, described the verdict as a "precedent-setting victory."