The company associated with spyware Pegasus was finally sentenced. The punishment decided is payment to the WhatsApp 147 million euros for hacking 1.400 people in 2019. Pegasus is malicious software that can be installed remotely on mobile phones to access, among other things, microphones and cameras.
NSO Group, which sells the software, has been accused of allowing authoritarian regimes to monitor journalists, activists and even political figures. Meta, which owns WhatsApp, said the landmark ruling marked the “first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware”.
NSO said it would “carefully examine the details of the verdict and seek appropriate legal remedies, including new proceedings and an appeal.” It is the first time a spyware developer has been held accountable for exploiting weaknesses in smartphone platforms.
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NSO Group says the technology should only be used against serious criminals and terrorists. But there are allegations that the technology has been used by some countries to target anyone they consider a threat to national security. Pegasus came under fire in 2021 when a list of 50 phone numbers of alleged victims was leaked to media outlets.
From this list, global media outlets identified the phone numbers of politicians and heads of state, business executives, activists and several members of the Arab royal family, as well as more than 180 journalists. Pegasus spyware is suspected of infecting devices belonging to government officials, according to Canadian research group The Citizen Lab.
Other high-profile figures believed to have been hacked include French President Emmanuel Macron and family members of Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
NSO Group was also ordered to pay Meta 319 euros in damages. The awards come after a six-year battle between the US social media giant and the Israeli surveillance company.
