Jury orders NSO to pay $167 million for hacking WhatsApp users
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Summary
Israel’s NSO Group has been ordered to pay $167m in punitive damages after its surveillance software perforated the WhatsApp phone of 1,400 users, enabling penetration of device security to install its proprietary Pegasus spyware.
The attack in 2019 targeted lawyers, journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents, diplomats and senior foreign government officials.
The US district court in San Francisco ruled that the company’s actions amounted to a violation of federal computer intrusion law and California’s unfair competition law.
NSO has said it will appeal the decision.
The company claims its software is intended for use against criminals and terrorists and is made available only to military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies with good human rights records.
