WhatsApp claimed on Friday that it won a legal victory with NSO Group, the maker of Pegasus spyware. A U.S. District Court judge ruled to support the platform owned by the Message and found that the Israeli company was responsible for hacking 1,400 personal devices and infecting them through spyware through the servers of the instant messaging platform. The judge also found the company violated U.S. hacking laws and California laws. In addition, NSO Group is also liable for violating WhatsApp’s terms of service.
WhatsApp wins lawsuit against NSO Group
U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton approved WhatsApp’s summary judgment motion against NSGO Group in ruling and found Israeli companies violated the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and California’s comprehensive computer Data Access and Fraud Act (CDAFA).
In March 2025, a separate trial will be held to determine the damages owed by NSO Group to WhatsApp. Hamilton also asked the parties to notify the court by January 17, 2025 whether any motions related to experts need to be resolved before trial compensation.
Whatsapp chief Will Cathcart called the ruling a “huge privacy victory.” “We spent five years filing cases because we firmly believe that spyware companies cannot cover up immunity or avoid liability for their illegal behavior. Surveillance companies should be aware that illegal spies will not tolerate them,” he added.
Nearly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed WhatsApp to file a lawsuit, accusing the NSO group of exploiting errors in messaging apps to install Pegasus Spyware. The company claims that the spyware is installed in an unauthorized manner and is used to monitor 1,400 people, including journalists, politicians and human rights activists.
In Friday’s ruling, Hamilton stressed that the NSO group has repeatedly failed to provide WhatsApp with the source code of its spyware. This is one of the main reasons for approving the messaging platform’s sanctions request. It is worth noting that the Israeli company only showed the source code of Pegasus spyware to only one Israeli citizen in the country. The judge called the move “simply impractical.”
WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against Israeli companies for the first time in 2019, demanding compensation injunctions and compensation. At the time, the NSO group believed that the intended use of Pegasus was to help capture terrorists and strengthen criminals, aiming to help law enforcement and intelligence agencies fight crime and protect national security.
