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How will the cyber espionage giant's attempts to restore its reputation end?
Cybersecurity researchers from Citizen Lab have been tracking the activities of the Israeli company NSO Group, developer of the Pegasus spyware, for several years. In 2019, experts revealed that this software was used to hack the phones of journalists and human rights defenders through a vulnerability in WhatsApp.
Despite the good intentions of the researchers, the NSO company, which is blacklisted by the US government, is actively suing Citizen Lab, trying to find out the methods by which the company conducted its analysis. The court, however, consistently rejects NSO's attempts to gain access to Citizen Lab documentation, but the situation continues to gradually escalate.
The trial against NSO began back in 2019, when WhatsApp and Meta* sued the spyware manufacturer, accusing it of sending malware to about 1,400 devices around the world.
Recently, the NSO has been actively trying to rethink its media image, especially after being blacklisted in 2021. So, in November last year, after the attacks of Hamas on October 7, the company asked the State Department to discuss the use of Pegasus as a " critical tool in the fight against terrorism."
Lawsuits against the NSO include not only the WhatsApp case, but also other lawsuits, including from Salvadoran journalists, Apple, and the widow of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi. All of these lawsuits are more or less based on Citizen Lab's research. In this regard, as mentioned above, the NSO has already twice tried to get additional information from Citizen Lab about the methods of their investigation.
The first attempt was rejected in March, and the second in April of this year. Judge Hamilton condemned the NSO's demands as "manifestly excessive". However, it left the company with a chance to try again if the NSO can provide evidence that individuals classified by Citizen Lab as civil society targets were actually engaged in"criminal/terrorist activities."
Citizen Lab director Ronald Deibert expressed satisfaction with the court's decision, emphasizing that the NSO's request was "clearly excessive" and at the moment "is not required to resolve disputed issues."
Cybersecurity researchers from Citizen Lab have been tracking the activities of the Israeli company NSO Group, developer of the Pegasus spyware, for several years. In 2019, experts revealed that this software was used to hack the phones of journalists and human rights defenders through a vulnerability in WhatsApp.
Despite the good intentions of the researchers, the NSO company, which is blacklisted by the US government, is actively suing Citizen Lab, trying to find out the methods by which the company conducted its analysis. The court, however, consistently rejects NSO's attempts to gain access to Citizen Lab documentation, but the situation continues to gradually escalate.
The trial against NSO began back in 2019, when WhatsApp and Meta* sued the spyware manufacturer, accusing it of sending malware to about 1,400 devices around the world.
Recently, the NSO has been actively trying to rethink its media image, especially after being blacklisted in 2021. So, in November last year, after the attacks of Hamas on October 7, the company asked the State Department to discuss the use of Pegasus as a " critical tool in the fight against terrorism."
Lawsuits against the NSO include not only the WhatsApp case, but also other lawsuits, including from Salvadoran journalists, Apple, and the widow of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi. All of these lawsuits are more or less based on Citizen Lab's research. In this regard, as mentioned above, the NSO has already twice tried to get additional information from Citizen Lab about the methods of their investigation.
The first attempt was rejected in March, and the second in April of this year. Judge Hamilton condemned the NSO's demands as "manifestly excessive". However, it left the company with a chance to try again if the NSO can provide evidence that individuals classified by Citizen Lab as civil society targets were actually engaged in"criminal/terrorist activities."
Citizen Lab director Ronald Deibert expressed satisfaction with the court's decision, emphasizing that the NSO's request was "clearly excessive" and at the moment "is not required to resolve disputed issues."
