The messenger got the opportunity to tell how the NSO Group empire works.
In March, WhatsApp achieved an important court victory against the Israeli company NSO Group, which developed the Pegasus spyware. A U.S. federal court has allowed the release of three documents revealing new facts about Pegasus.
The documents include testimony from NSO employees, internal company records, and WhatsApp correspondence obtained through subpoenas. Among the new data is information that NSO has disabled access to Pegasus for 10 government customers due to violations in the use of the program.
WhatsApp's lawsuit was filed in 2019. The company accused NSO of cyberattacks on journalists, human rights defenders and activists, which violated the US cybersecurity law and WhatsApp regulations. A spokesman for the messenger said that new evidence confirms how Pegasus was used for surveillance.
Court documents indicate that NSO developed the "Eden" and "Heaven" exploits, which allowed devices to be infiltrated through WhatsApp messages. Customers only had to specify the target number, after which Pegasus automatically installed the spyware. The annual license for this software cost up to $6.8 million, and the company's revenue from its use in 2019 amounted to at least $31 million.
NSO has previously claimed that it is not involved in the operations of its clients, but the documents indicate otherwise. One of the company's employees admitted that the decision to launch exploits was made internally by NSO. It also became known that fake WhatsApp accounts and servers were created for attacks.
After security updates in 2018, the messenger blocked the "Heaven" and "Eden" exploits, and in 2020, another NSO tool "Erised" that could infect devices without any interaction from the victim.
The litigation also revealed that Pegasus was used to spy on Princess Haya of Dubai, which had previously been covered by several major publications. At the same time, NSO disconnected 10 customers due to abuses related to the use of spyware.
WhatsApp is now awaiting a court decision on the final decision in its favor. Experts note that the disclosed data can be used in other lawsuits against NSO in various countries.
Access Now noted that WhatsApp's actions are already yielding results. Despite the NSO's refusal to provide full information, even the available data is useful in strengthening the position of plaintiffs in similar cases around the world.
Recently, in Barcelona, a lawyer filed a lawsuit against the founders and one of the executives of the NSO Group, accusing them of espionage attacks. This is the first precedent when charges have been brought not only against the company, but also against specific individuals behind its activities. The lawsuit was filed in the interests of Andreu Van den Einde, a lawyer and professor specializing in cybersecurity. In 2022, he became one of the victims of a surveillance campaign against Catalans who support the independence of the region. For this, NSO's Pegasus spyware was used.
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In March, WhatsApp achieved an important court victory against the Israeli company NSO Group, which developed the Pegasus spyware. A U.S. federal court has allowed the release of three documents revealing new facts about Pegasus.
The documents include testimony from NSO employees, internal company records, and WhatsApp correspondence obtained through subpoenas. Among the new data is information that NSO has disabled access to Pegasus for 10 government customers due to violations in the use of the program.
WhatsApp's lawsuit was filed in 2019. The company accused NSO of cyberattacks on journalists, human rights defenders and activists, which violated the US cybersecurity law and WhatsApp regulations. A spokesman for the messenger said that new evidence confirms how Pegasus was used for surveillance.
Court documents indicate that NSO developed the "Eden" and "Heaven" exploits, which allowed devices to be infiltrated through WhatsApp messages. Customers only had to specify the target number, after which Pegasus automatically installed the spyware. The annual license for this software cost up to $6.8 million, and the company's revenue from its use in 2019 amounted to at least $31 million.
NSO has previously claimed that it is not involved in the operations of its clients, but the documents indicate otherwise. One of the company's employees admitted that the decision to launch exploits was made internally by NSO. It also became known that fake WhatsApp accounts and servers were created for attacks.
After security updates in 2018, the messenger blocked the "Heaven" and "Eden" exploits, and in 2020, another NSO tool "Erised" that could infect devices without any interaction from the victim.
The litigation also revealed that Pegasus was used to spy on Princess Haya of Dubai, which had previously been covered by several major publications. At the same time, NSO disconnected 10 customers due to abuses related to the use of spyware.
WhatsApp is now awaiting a court decision on the final decision in its favor. Experts note that the disclosed data can be used in other lawsuits against NSO in various countries.
Access Now noted that WhatsApp's actions are already yielding results. Despite the NSO's refusal to provide full information, even the available data is useful in strengthening the position of plaintiffs in similar cases around the world.
Recently, in Barcelona, a lawyer filed a lawsuit against the founders and one of the executives of the NSO Group, accusing them of espionage attacks. This is the first precedent when charges have been brought not only against the company, but also against specific individuals behind its activities. The lawsuit was filed in the interests of Andreu Van den Einde, a lawyer and professor specializing in cybersecurity. In 2022, he became one of the victims of a surveillance campaign against Catalans who support the independence of the region. For this, NSO's Pegasus spyware was used.
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