The facebook-owned company, WhatsApp, is suing NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm selling spyware to governments. The encrypted messaging service is accusing NSO of hacking into the phones of around 1,400 users across 20 countries, by exploiting WhatsApp’s calling system and sending malware to their devices. Those affected include a large number of people in civil society, some of them dissidents, prominent journalists, and human rights lawyers. WhatsApp has called the incident an “unmistakable pattern of abuse”, stating that legal oversight of cyber weapons is imperative to ensure that they are not used to violate individual rights and freedoms.
NSO firmly denied the allegations, stating that the company’s sole purpose is to provide technology to their clients, governments and intelligence agencies, to help them fight terrorism and serious crimes. However, there is evidence that the intrusion had nothing to do with preventing terrorism or serious crimes. Recently NSO has come under harsh scrutiny for various incidents of spying related to human rights violations. The lawsuit seeks to have NSO barred from accessing WhatsApp or Facebook. Experts call WhatsApp’s move entirely unprecedented since major service providers tend to avoid litigation for fear of revealing too much information about digital security. The decision could set an entirely new precedent for service providers and have wider implications for cybersecurity developments.
