News Summary

NSO Group, an Israeli-based spyware vendor, has been ordered by a California federal jury to pay over $167 million in damages to WhatsApp for a hacking campaign that targeted more than 1,400 users. The lawsuit, filed by Meta-owned WhatsApp in 2019, revolved around NSO’s use of a critical vulnerability in WhatsApp’s audio-calling feature, enabling its Pegasus spyware to infiltrate devices without user interaction. Victims included attorneys, journalists, human rights activists, and political dissidents across 20 countries. The verdict marks a significant victory for privacy advocates and sets a precedent for similar legal actions against exploit vendors.