US Judge Finds NSO Group Liable for WhatsApp Hacking
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A US district judge has ruled in favor of Meta Platforms' WhatsApp in a lawsuit accusing Israel's NSO Group of exploiting a bug in the messaging app to install spyware for unauthorized surveillance, as reported by Reuters.
US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, granted WhatsApp's motion and found NSO liable for hacking and breach of contract, according to the news agency. The case will now proceed to trial solely on the issue of damages, Hamilton said. NSO Group has yet to respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Will Cathcart, WhatsApp's head, hailed the ruling as a victory for privacy. "We spent five years presenting our case because we firmly believe that spyware companies could not hide behind immunity or avoid accountability for their unlawful actions," Cathcart wrote in a social media post. "Surveillance companies should be on notice that illegal spying will not be tolerated."
A WhatsApp spokesperson echoed Cathcart's sentiments, expressing gratitude for the judge's decision. "We’re proud to have stood up against NSO and thankful to the many organizations that were supportive of this case. WhatsApp will never stop working to protect people’s private communication," the spokesperson said.
Cybersecurity experts welcomed the ruling, describing it as a significant development for the spyware industry.
"The entire industry has hidden behind the claim that whatever their customers do with their hacking tools, it's not their responsibility," John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher with Citizen Lab, told Reuters. "Today’s ruling makes it clear that NSO Group is in fact responsible for breaking numerous laws."
The lawsuit, filed in 2019, alleged that NSO, without permission, accessed WhatsApp servers six months prior to install Pegasus software on victims' mobile devices, enabling the surveillance of 1,400 individuals, including journalists, human rights activists, and dissidents.
NSO argued that Pegasus assists law enforcement and intelligence agencies in combating crime and safeguarding national security, and that its technology targets terrorists, pedophiles, and criminals.
NSO's appeal of a 2020 ruling denying it "conduct-based immunity" was upheld in 2021 by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which deemed it a "easy case" due to NSO's licensing of Pegasus and provision of technical support not shielding it from liability under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The US Supreme Court subsequently declined NSO's appeal, paving the way for the lawsuit to proceed.