Meta has asked a federal court to hold the Israeli company in contempt.
Meta is once again asking a court to intervene in its long-running battle against spyware maker NSO Group. The company says it foiled a spearfishing attempt targeting WhatsApp users and is now asking a federal court to hold NSO in contempt.
Meta’s battle with the company behind the infamous Pegasus spyware dates back to 2019, when it sued the “cyber intelligence” company for targeting human rights activists, journalists, political dissidents and others. Last year, a jury awarded Meta $167 million in damages, which was later reduced by a judge to $4 million. This judgment was also accompanied by a permanent injunction prohibiting NSO from targeting WhatsApp and its users.
Less than a year later, Meta claims to have caught NSO violating the terms of that order. According to the company, it detected a group of accounts linked to NSO that attempted to trick WhatsApp users into clicking on malicious links similar to other phishing campaigns linked to the spyware maker. According to a Meta spokesperson, the latest phishing campaign targeted fewer than 10 WhatsApp users who were “primarily” located in Jordan and Lebanon.
“We have not seen any signs of compromise between the identified targets,” the spokesperson said. In its disclosure, Meta shared the domains it identified and associated with the phishing campaign so others can check whether they were targeted on WhatsApp or another platform.
We have reached out to NSO Group for comment and will update if we receive a response.
