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A California jury has ruled that NSO Group, an Israeli cybersecurity firm, must pay $168 million in damages to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, following a breach of WhatsApp's servers. The ruling, which comes after a six-year legal battle, stems from NSO’s use of its Pegasus spyware to hack into the accounts of approximately 1,400 users, including journalists, human rights activists and diplomats worldwide.
Meta filed the lawsuit against NSO in 2019, accusing the company of unlawfully accessing WhatsApp's servers and continuing its cyber espionage activities even after the legal proceedings had begun. Despite violating U.S. cyber laws, Meta argued that NSO "posed a real and ongoing threat" to its platforms and users by continuing to target its infrastructure.
The jury's decision is one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed on a company specializing in commercial spyware. In response, Meta stated it would seek a permanent injunction to prevent NSO from exploiting WhatsApp’s systems in the future.
The hack was carried out by exploiting a security flaw in WhatsApp's calling service, allowing the installation of Pegasus spyware on mobile devices without the users' knowledge. The spyware gave NSO access to victims' cameras, microphones, messages, emails and geographical locations.
NSO had charged European governments up to $7 million for hacking 15 devices at once, with an additional $1-2 million for hacking beyond the client's country, according to testimony from Sarit Bizinsky-Gil, NSO's vice president of global business operations. Meta's lawyer described Pegasus as a “highly sophisticated” and expensive tool.
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Testimony during the trial revealed that NSO had hacked thousands of devices between 2018 and 2020. Tamir Gazneli, NSO’s vice president of research and development, confirmed the company’s actions but denied selling "spyware." He said the tools were used for intelligence gathering but insisted they targeted "intelligence targets" rather than individuals.
The trial also uncovered that the U.S. government, through the CIA and FBI, paid NSO $7.6 million for services, including operations with foreign governments and internal testing. Despite being blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2021 for posing a national security threat, NSO continued its activities with U.S. agencies.
Despite the ongoing litigation, NSO persisted in targeting WhatsApp's infrastructure, Meta’s legal team said. The company is now seeking a permanent court order to block further use of its systems by NSO.
Meta has announced that it will donate the $168 million in damages to organizations advocating for digital rights. The company described the ruling as a significant step forward in the fight against digital espionage.
NSO has indicated it plans to appeal the decision, claiming that its technology is used responsibly by authorized government agencies in the fight against crime and terrorism.