Judge rules Israeli firm NSO Group liable for damages in WhatsApp hacking case
CNNCNN — Messaging service WhatsApp claimed a major legal victory over Israeli spyware firm NSO Group on Friday after a federal judge ruled that NSO was liable under federal and California law for a 2019 hacking spree that breached over 1,000 WhatsApp users. The case will now go to trial on the question of what damages NSO Group owes Meta-owned WhatsApp, Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the Northern District of California wrote in her ruling on Friday granting WhatsApp’s motion for partial summary judgment. The landmark case began in 2019, when WhatsApp filed suit accusing NSO Group of breaking a federal anti-hacking law, alleging that the company’s flagship custom malware, Pegasus, was used on human rights advocates and journalists in a sweeping attack in the spring of that year. Friday’s ruling in favor of WhatsApp “sets a precedent that will be cited for years to come,” said John Scott-Railton, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, who has investigated the use of NSO Group’s spyware.