WhatsApp wins $167M lawsuit over Israeli Spyware Attack

WhatsApp wins $167M lawsuit over Israeli Spyware Attack

In response to a breach that occurred in 2019, which resulted in the accounts of more than 1,400 users being compromised, a jury in the United States has sentenced the Israeli spyware company NSO Group to pay punitive penalties of more than $167 million to WhatsApp. The ruling comes after a court struggle that lasted for five years and was started by the messaging service that is owned by Meta.

NSO Group has been forced to pay about $445,000 in compensatory damages, which will cover the expenditures that WhatsApp expended in order to investigate and remedy the breach. This is in addition to the punitive penalties that have been awarded.

Exactly How It Began
WhatsApp filed the complaint in 2019, alleging that NSO Group had exploited a weakness in its voice calling function in order to install Pegasus malware on the smartphones of WhatsApp users. According to reports, the victims included individuals who advocated for human rights, journalists, and political dissidents. Specifically, WhatsApp said that the penetration violated both federal and California anti-hacking laws, in addition to violating the terms of service for WhatsApp.

In December of 2024, Judge Phyllis Hamilton issued a ruling that NSO Group had, in fact, broken both the law and the service agreement that WhatsApp had with its users. Because of this ruling, the jury trial that was going to determine the financial penalty may now proceed.

The Response from WhatsApp
According to Zade Alsawah, a representative for WhatsApp, the ruling made by the jury was historic. According to a statement released by Alsawah, “Our court case has made history as the first victory against illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone.” She stressed that the verdict sent a message to the business of surveillance-for-hire that unlawful eavesdropping would not go unpunished and that this message will be sent to the sector.