The Android and iPhone spyware company NSO has suffered a major defeat in a US court, after a judge ruled that the company must hand over its Pegasus code to Meta.
It’s the latest setback for the company, which has been blacklisted in the US, sued by Apple, seen victims alerted by the iPhone maker, and faced severe financial problems …
iPhone spyware company NSO
NSO is an Israeli company best known for its Pegasus spyware, which can be used to remotely hack an iPhone. Simply receiving a particular iMessage – without opening it or interacting with it in any way – can allow an iPhone to be compromised, with almost all of the personal data on it exposed.
The US government banned the import and use of Pegasus, depriving the company of its most lucrative customer base: US law enforcement agencies. Apple added to the pressure, suing the company, and alerting owners of infected iPhones. That put the company under extreme financial pressure, which may see it disappear – or may just make things worse.
For those most at risk – such as diplomats, politicians, government opponents, and activists – Apple has made available iPhone Lockdown Mode, which disables the most common attack paths.
Judge rules that NSO must hand over Pegasus code
In addition to attacking iPhones, Pegasus also has exploits for specific apps, including WhatsApp. Meta discovered back in 2019 that the spyware had been used against around 1,400 WhatsApp users, and launched a lawsuit against the company.
As part of the case, Meta demanded that NSO hand over the code for Pegasus, and reveal its full functionality. NSO naturally refused, but The Guardian reports that a judge has now ruled in favor of Meta.
NSO Group, the maker of one the world’s most sophisticated cyber weapons, has been ordered by a US court to hand its code for Pegasus and other spyware products to WhatsApp as part of the company’s ongoing litigation.
The decision by Judge Phyllis Hamilton is a major legal victory for WhatsApp, the Meta-owned communication app which has been embroiled in a lawsuit against NSO since 2019 […]
She sided with WhatsApp in ordering the company to produce “all relevant spyware” for a period of one year before and after the two weeks in which WhatsApp users were allegedly attacked: from 29 April 2018 to 10 May 2020. NSO must also give WhatsApp information “concerning the full functionality of the relevant spyware”.
The lawsuit itself will continue once NSO has complied.
The US government continues to clamp down on NSO’s activities. As of this month, foreign individuals involved in the misuse of spyware will face visa restrictions which could ban them from travelling to the US.
Photo by Alex Chumak on Unsplash
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