Meta on Tuesday boasted about winning the lawsuit against NSO Group, after a jury ordered the Israeli spyware maker to pay more than $167 million for the hacking of WhatsApp users.
The lawsuit against NSO was filed in 2019, after it came to light that a zero-day vulnerability had been exploited to deliver NSO-made spyware to roughly 1,400 WhatsApp users.
The jury verdict comes after in December 2024 a judge ruled that NSO Group is liable for the hacking of WhatsApp users.
NSO’s spyware is advertised as a legitimate surveillance tool designed to help government organizations fight terrorism and other types of crime. However, it has often been used by authoritarian regimes to spy on their opponents, including journalists and human rights activists.
The Israeli firm has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that it’s not responsible for how customers used its products.
“Today’s verdict in WhatsApp’s case is an important step forward for privacy and security as the first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone,” Meta said after the verdict, noting that it represents a “critical deterrent to this malicious industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies and the privacy and security of the people we serve”.
The social media giant also pointed out that the lawsuit forced NSO to admit that it spends tens of millions of dollars every year to develop malware installation methods.
NSO Group has also been ordered to pay more than $444,000 to Meta in compensatory damages. However, the social media firm admitted that there’s a long road ahead to collecting the awarded damages.
Indeed, following the verdict, NSO stated that this is just “another step in a lengthy judicial process” and it “will carefully examine the verdict’s details and pursue appropriate legal remedies, including further proceedings and an appeal”.
“We firmly believe that our technology plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism and is deployed responsibly by authorized government agencies,” NSO said.
Meta had the support of many tech giants in its lawsuit against NSO. Apple had also filed a lawsuit against NSO, but dropped it last year after determining that the legal battle could expose valuable anti-exploitation and threat intelligence information.
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