A US jury in California has ordered Israeli cybersecurity company NSO Group Technologies to pay $167m (NIS598.4m) in damages to Meta, concluding a protracted legal battle that began in 2019.
The case centred on allegations that NSO had used its spyware to infiltrate WhatsApp accounts belonging to journalists, activists and government officials.
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The California jury’s decision included $444,719 in compensatory damages and a further $167.3m in punitive damages.
In a press statement, Meta said: “Today’s verdict in WhatsApp’s case is an important step forward for privacy and security as the first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone.
“Today, the jury’s decision to force NSO, a notorious foreign spyware merchant, to pay damages is a critical deterrent to this malicious industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies and the privacy and security of the people we serve.”
This followed an earlier ruling in December 2024, which found that NSO had unlawfully exploited a vulnerability in WhatsApp to plant surveillance software on users’ devices.
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By GlobalDataMeta initiated the lawsuit after Canadian research group Citizen Lab revealed that Pegasus spyware had been deployed through WhatsApp without users’ knowledge.
The malware allowed the unauthorised activation of a device’s camera and microphone and provided access to emails, messages and location data.
The spyware could be installed by merely sending a message, requiring no action from the recipient.
During court proceedings, it emerged that NSO maintained a 140-member research team with an annual budget of $50m. Part of this funding was allocated to identifying and exploiting weaknesses in smartphone security, reported Reuters.
An attorney for NSO disclosed that its client list included countries such as Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
In a previous ruling in December, District Judge Phyllis Hamilton criticised NSO for its non-compliance with court orders and failure to provide relevant discovery.
NSO was cited by the news agency as saying that it will “carefully examine the verdict’s details and pursue appropriate legal remedies, including further proceedings and an appeal”.
