US EditionSpyware maker NSO ordered to pay $167 million for hacking WhatsApp
- A California jury on May 6, 2025, ordered Israeli spyware maker NSO Group to pay Meta Platforms over $167 million for hacking WhatsApp users in 2019.
- WhatsApp filed the lawsuit after NSO exploited a bug in its audio-calling feature to install Pegasus spyware targeting about 1,400 journalists, activists, and dissidents.
- NSO's research team of 140 people, with a $50 million budget, partly focused on developing exploits for smartphone vulnerabilities used by client governments including Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
- The damages include $444,719 in compensatory and $167,256,000 in punitive damages aimed at punishing NSO and deterring future spyware misuse.
- The verdict sets a legal precedent highlighting the consequences for illegal spyware and signals increased accountability for surveillance technology companies worldwide.
181 Articles
181 Articles
Maker of Pegasus Spyware Ordered to Pay $167 Million in Damages over WhatsApp Hacks
In California, a federal jury has ordered Israeli spyware firm NSO Group to pay over $167 million in damages for hacking some 1,400 WhatsApp users with Pegasus spyware. The most targeted country in the case, which was first filed in 2019, was Mexico. Pegasus has been used to spy on politicians, activists and journalists around the world.
The attacks against WhatsApp were mainly revealed, but the court documents also provide insight into the general operations of the Israeli company NSO. The company must pay $168 million.
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