Israeli government may have obstructed WhatsApp lawsuit against spyware company
New research suggests that the Israeli government may have been obstructing the Israeli-based software company NSO Group's lawsuit against Meta for allegedly using the company's messaging app WhatsApp to distribute spyware.
Leak Reveals Israeli Government Interfered With WhatsApp's Lawsuit Against Spyware Company - FindLaw
NSO Group is known for developing the spyware 'Pegasus.' Pegasus is a smartphone monitoring app that was advertised as being 'useful for fighting terrorism,' but there have been reports that it has been used to monitor journalists, human rights activists, and politicians, and it is subject to restrictions in the United States and other countries.
In 2019, the WhatsApp team sued NSO Group in the United States for distributing Pegasus using the WhatsApp system. According to WhatsApp, NSO Group conducted a cyber attack on more than 1,400 WhatsApp users in 20 countries over a two-week period from late April to mid-May 2019, forcing them to install Pegasus. Just before this lawsuit, it was reported that WhatsApp's calling function was vulnerable to malware that could be installed and information could be stolen. WhatsApp claims that NSO Group exploited this vulnerability to launch the attack.
WhatsApp sues Israeli tech company over global hack that led to assassinations and threats - GIGAZINE
The WhatsApp team is seeking damages and an injunction to block NSO Group from accessing the company's service and to stop it from developing and selling spyware targeted at WhatsApp users.
NSO Group, meanwhile, denies any wrongdoing and says it only sells its products to government intelligence and law enforcement agencies that have passed vetting procedures to combat terrorism and crime.
The litigation has dragged on for over five years, culminating in a court order in 2024 to force WhatsApp to hand over the Pegasus code, but newly leaked documents reveal that the Israeli government may have obstructed the trial.
According to the leaked documents, when a document disclosure request was sent to NSO Group in July 2020, it was revealed that many files and computers may have been removed from NSO Group's offices, and that the Israeli government was involved in this matter.
This incident reportedly occurred after NSO Group met with Israeli government officials to discuss how it would respond to the document requests. According to legal information website FindLaw, one of NSO Group's lawyers asked the Israeli lawyers if the Israeli government was prepared to bail out NSO Group, to which the Israeli lawyers responded that they were 'very aware of the risks and are considering their options.' A few days later, a secret warrant was issued authorizing Israeli government officials to search NSO Group's offices and seize computers and files.
'The leaks reveal a complex web of international legal maneuvering and government interference in the case. They raise serious questions about the extent of government involvement in private surveillance technology and the potential impact on privacy. This case will likely spark further debate about the balance between national security interests and individual privacy rights in the digital age,' FindLaw said.
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