Oct 30, 2019 13:00:00

WhatsApp sues Israeli technology company for global hacking that created assassination and threat

by

antonbe

WhatsApp, a Facebook company, sued Israeli technology company NSO Group , 'providing technology to help fight terrorism and crime.' According to WhatsApp, at the beginning of 2019, the NSO group had secretly attacked rights activists, lawyers, journalists and academic institutions for two weeks through WhatsApp's video call system.

Will Cathcart-Why WhatsApp is pushing back on NSO Group hacking-The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/29/why-whatsapp-is-pushing-back-nso-group-hacking/

WhatsApp sues Israeli firm, accusing it of hacking activists' phones | Technology | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/oct/29/whatsapp-sues-israeli-firm-accusing-it-of-hacking-activists-phones

WhatsApp sues Israel's NSO for allegedly helping spies hack phones around the world-Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cyber-whatsapp-nsogroup/whatsapp-sues-israels-nso-for-allegedly-helping-spies-hack-phones-around-the-world-idUSKBN1X82BE

According to WhatsApp alleged in a California court on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, more than 1,400 people from 20 countries in the two weeks from the end of April 2019 to the middle of May, depending on the technology sold by the NSO Group An attack targeting the smartphone of WhatsApp users was conducted. Targeted people included human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, prominent religious people, and directors of humanitarian organizations. As a result, WhatsApp believes that some people have been the targets of intimidation and murder.

by arivera

WhatsApp requires courts to permanently ban NSO groups from accessing WhatsApp and Facebook systems. WhatsApp also argues that the NSO Group's act of breaking the WhatsApp contract and misusing the Facebook system is a computer crime stipulated by US federal law and California law.

WhatsApp spokesman said, “This is the first time that a company that provides encrypted messaging apps has taken legal action against a private company that has done a cyber attack on its users.” In addition, he argued that 'in order to protect people's rights and freedoms wherever they are in the world, it is necessary to legally monitor whether such cyber weapons are attacking'. .

Apart from this, the NSO group has also been linked to a case in which Jamal Kashoggi , a Saudi journalist, was killed in the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in 2018. Canadian digital rights group Citizen Lab reports that Kashogigi's close iPhone was infected with NSO spyware. Mr. Kashoghi's friend later claimed that this spyware leaked personal criticism that Mr. Kashoghi made against the Saudi Royal Family , which contributed to Kashoghi's killing.

Kashogigi “I can't breathe”, US CNN reports the recorded sound of the saw 4 photos International News: AFPBB News
https://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3201287

In 2018, Citizen Lab announced that a vulnerability in WhatsApp could allow an attacker to install surveillance software on both iPhone and Android. It is unknown how many of the 1.5 billion WhatsApp users were infected, but whatsApp then worked with Citizen Lab to identify the technology of the NSO Group.