Meta claims Israeli spyware firm NSO Group failed to complain, demands further pressure by US gov't

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced Monday it will file a complaint against Israeli spyware firm NSO Group. Meta accuses NSO of failing to comply with a court order that prohibits targeting WhatsApp users. The complaint alleges NSO Group ran phishing campaigns, tricking users into clicking malicious links, and tested its products on WhatsApp accounts and groups.

Meta is calling on the US justice system to hold NSO Group in contempt for violating the court order. The company reiterated that WhatsApp users' personal messages and calls remain protected by default end-to-end encryption. Meta encourages users to keep their apps updated and report suspicious activity.

This complaint stems from a previous legal dispute between Meta and NSO Group, which concluded last year after a six-year legal battle. In that case, NSO Group was forced to pay Meta reparations for damages to its users. The dispute began in 2019 when Meta engineers detected and stopped an attack using NSO's Pegasus spyware against over a thousand WhatsApp users.

NSO Group was ordered to pay $167 million in damages and was subsequently blacklisted by the United States government for engaging in activities deemed dangerous to US national security. Pegasus spyware exploits software vulnerabilities, particularly "zero-day vulnerabilities," which are loopholes unknown to software producers and unpatched.

“

As always, WhatsApp users’ personal messages and calls remain protected with default end-to-end encryption. We encourage people to keep their apps and devices up to date and report suspicious activity so we can quickly investigate and take action.