Pegasus hacking dispute: US court held NSO Group responsible, big win for WhatsApp
WhatsApp Pegasus Hacking: WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart called the decision a "big win for privacy". He said, "We spent five years proving this case because we believe that spying companies cannot escape accountability for their illegal actions."
Meta-owned WhatsApp won a major legal battle against Israeli company NSO Group when a US federal judge in California convicted the group of targeting the devices of about 1,400 WhatsApp users through Pegasus spyware.
WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against the NSO Group in 2019 for allegedly using the vulnerability of WhatsApp to deliver Pegasus spyware on some 1,400 phones globally in May 2019. The list included several dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists. This malware illegitimately infiltrated WhatsApp servers in order to install probing software in the users' machines and helped intercept their communication and data.
On Friday, District Judge Phyllis Hamilton of California Oakland also ruled in favor of WhatsApp, finding NSO liable for hacking and breach of contract. Now, only the compensation amount is to be discussed in the case.
WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart called this decision a "big victory for privacy". He said, "We spent five years proving this case because we believe that spying companies cannot escape accountability for their illegal actions." He also said that illegal surveillance will not be tolerated and WhatsApp will always strive to protect people's privacy.
The dispute between Pegasus and WhatsApp is going on in India. This matter has also reached the Supreme Court. Although this matter has been in the Supreme Court since 2019, last year it was discussed again after an alert was received from Apple on the phones of some opposition leaders, but at present, the Pegasus case is in cold storage in India.
