Spyware firm targeted WhatsApp users in defiance of US court order, Meta says

Meta reports that the spyware firm NSO Group has targeted WhatsApp users with malicious links, violating a US court order. WhatsApp detected and disrupted these spear-phishing attempts, which targeted a small number of users in Jordan and Lebanon, and also observed NSO creating test accounts and groups. This action constitutes a violation of a permanent injunction against NSO, which was previously ordered to pay Meta $167 million in damages for exploiting WhatsApp. Meta has asked the court to hold NSO in contempt of its order. NSO Group, now under US ownership, previously developed the Pegasus spyware, which exploited a WhatsApp vulnerability.

Meta is filing a federal US court contempt order against Israeli spyware firm NSO Group for violating a permanent injunction. WhatsApp, a Meta service, disrupted new spear phishing attempts linked to NSO, which is blacklisted by the US government. These attempts aimed to trick users into clicking malicious links. Meta stated that WhatsApp took down test accounts and groups created by NSO on its platform. Last year, a US court ordered NSO to stop targeting WhatsApp, a ruling NSO appealed. Meta is supported in this legal action by civil rights organizations and security researchers.