Did you know Pegasus Spyware Hacked More Than 1400 WhatsApp Accounts Belonging To Journalists, Politicians, and Activists

 

The organization behind popular spyware Pegasus was found liable for hacking more than 1400 accounts belonging to politicians, activists, and journalists.

The Record recently published the news, which says an investigation found the company legally guilty of the act after the shocking findings were proven. Meta’s WhatsApp filed the original case after nearly 1400 accounts were hacked.

Since 2019, investigations have been taking place, and nearly five years later, we’ve learned that this data was used to hack devices belonging to activists, government offices, and journalists.

The Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group must pay the charges for violating laws such as California’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Computer Fraud Act. As per the recent ruling, the matter is a clear breach of contract.

Now, a new trial will ensue about the issuance of damages. As per the spyware maker, it is not liable as Pegasus is operated with help from clients investigating the matter. They called out the arguments as baseless and rejected all claims linked to it.

The matter is certainly a major verdict in terms of privacy for WhatsApp. The company’s head shared in a recent Threads post that they spent five years working hard to prove their claims and now after this finding, it’s clear that spyware firms cannot hide behind immunity walls or run away from taking accountability for their unlawful behavior.

Meanwhile, surveillance firms are on notice and no kind of illegal spying would be tolerated. For now, the NSO failed to provide any direct comments on the matter but it’s a huge win for WhatsApp and a major blow to the NSO group.