WhatsApp has won a ruling against spyware maker NSO Group forbidding it from targeting its users, while NSO Group in the same ruling got a massive reduction to the punitive damages a court had previously awarded. Northern California District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton granted the permanent injunction in a ruling late Friday. In doing so,…
Category: NSO Group
El Salvador, Exploits, Geopolitics, Global Security News, NSO Group, privacy, Spyware
Appeals court clears path for El Salvadoran journos to sue spyware maker
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit that El Salvadoran journalists had brought against leading spyware maker NSO Group. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that a district court that dismissed the suit — on the grounds that the California court wasn’t the right forum — abused its discretion.…
El Salvador, Global Security News, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, Jamal Khashoggi, NSO Group, privacy, Saudi Arabia, Spyware, Technology, U.S. courts, United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates (UAE), WhatsApp
Appeals court rejects attempt by Khashoggi widow to renew suit against NSO Group
An appeals court on Wednesday rejected a bid by the widow of murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi to revive a lawsuit against spyware maker NSO Group, whom she alleged played a role in her husband’s death. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia had dismissed the suit from Hanan Elatr Khashoggi,…
Global Security News, Meta, NSO, NSO Group, Security, Spyware, surveillance, WhatsApp, zero days
Seven things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group spyware lawsuit
The landmark trial between WhatsApp and NSO Group unearthed several new revelations. We recap some of them here.
Global Security News, Meta, NSO, NSO Group, Security, Spyware, surveillance, WhatsApp, zero days
Five things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group spyware lawsuit
The landmark trial between WhatsApp and NSO Group unearthed several new revelations. We recap some of them here.
Global Security News, Meta, NSO Group, privacy, Spyware, Technology, U.S. courts, WhatsApp
NSO Group owes $168M in damages to WhatsApp over spyware infections, jury says
A federal jury decided Tuesday that NSO Group must pay WhatsApp approximately $168 million in damages after a judge ruled that it violated anti-hacking laws when 1,400 of the messaging application’s users became infected with Pegasus spyware. It’s the latest in a series of wins in court for WhatsApp in its pioneering lawsuit that has produced…
Exploits, Global Security News, Israel, Jamal Khashoggi, NSO Group, privacy, Spyware, Technology, U.S. courts, WhatsApp
Judge limits evidence about NSO Group customers, victims in damages trial
A federal judge last week placed strict limits on the kind of evidence NSO Group can raise during a trial on damages in the lawsuit WhatsApp brought against the spyware vendor over allegations it hacked 1,400 of the messaging platform’s users. Under the order, NSO Group is prohibited from presenting evidence about its customers’ identities,…
Cybersecurity, Global Security News, NSO, NSO Group, Security, Spyware
NSO lawyer names Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan as spyware customers behind 2019 WhatsApp hacks
This is the first time representatives for the spyware maker have publicly named its government customers.
Cybersecurity, El Salvador, Global Security News, North America, NSO Group, privacy, Spyware, Technology, U.S. courts
Judges strike skeptical note of NSO Group’s argument to dismiss case from El Salvadoran journos
A panel of U.S. judges considering an appeal of a ruling that went against El Salvadoran journalists suing NSO Group over alleged infections of their phone by the company’s Pegasus spyware appeared more skeptical Thursday of the vendor’s arguments than those of the reporters. Judge James Donato of the District Court for the Northern District…
Amnesty International, Cellebrite, Geopolitics, Global Security News, JD Work, Jen Ellis, National Security Council, National Security Council (NSC), NCC Group, North America, NSO Group, Pall Mall Process, privacy, Romania, Spyware
Cyber experts offer lukewarm praise for voluntary code governing use of commercial hacking tools
Cybersecurity professionals who participated in discussions over a code of conduct for nations to use commercial hacking tools said the final voluntary guidelines offer modest promise, even if they fall short of what some wanted. The next step for the joint France/U.K.-led Pall Mall Process, which last week got 21 signatories to the code, is…
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21 Countries Sign Onto Voluntary Pact to Stem the Proliferation of Spyware
Twenty-one countries signed onto the Pall Mall Process, an effort a year in the making that was created to develop a framework nations could adopt to address the proliferation and malicious use of spyware by governments that want it to track human rights workers, activists, journalists, and other such targets. The post 21 Countries Sign…
Amnesty International, Citizen Lab, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, government spyware, NSO Group, privacy, Security, Spyware, surveillance
Again and again, NSO Group’s customers keep getting their spyware operations caught
Despite the stealthy nature of spyware, security researchers keep detecting Pegasus spyware attacks in part because of sloppy ‘operational security.’
Cybersecurity, Global IT News, Global Security News, NSO Group, privacy, Security, spain, Spyware, surveillance
Catalan court says NSO Group executives can be charged in spyware investigation
The ruling said that a lower court can charge two NSO Group co-founders and a former executive of two affiliate companies for the alleged hacking of a lawyer. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Citizen Lab, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, ICE, NSO Group, paragon, privacy, Spyware, Technology, Threats, U.S. courts, WhatsApp
WhatsApp says it disrupted spyware campaign aimed at reporters, civil society
WhatsApp said Friday that it had disrupted a spyware campaign that targeted 90 people, including journalists and activists. The company tied to the campaign, according to WhatsApp, is Israeli firm Paragon, which last fall signed a $2 million contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and recently was purchased by U.S. private equity giant AE International.…
california, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, North America, NSO Group, pegasus, privacy, Spyware, U.S. courts, WhatsApp
Judge grants ruling in favor of WhatsApp against spyware firm NSO Group
A federal judge has dealt the first major legal blow against spyware maker NSO Group, ruling in favor of WhatsApp in a five-year-old lawsuit against the Israeli firm over allegations that it hacked the chat service. Northern California District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton made her ruling on Friday as a summary judgment, thus not requiring…
Cybersecurity, Global IT News, Global Security News, NSO Group, pegasus, privacy, Security, Spyware, WhatsApp
WhatsApp scores historic victory against NSO Group in long-running spyware hacking case
A US judge ruled that the Israeli spyware maker breached hacking laws by using WhatsApp to infect devices with Pegasus © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Apple, Citizen Lab, Cybersecurity, Global IT News, Global Security News, infosec, iOS, iPhone, lockdown mode, NSO Group, privacy, Security, Spyware, surveillance
Why Apple sends spyware victims to this nonprofit security lab
Before the elections, the cybersecurity team of U.S. vice president and then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris reached out to Apple asking for help, according to Forbes, after a tool that’s designed to detect spyware on iPhones flagged anomalies on two devices belonging to campaign staffers. Apple declined to forensically analyze the phones, per Forbes. The company’s…
Cybersecurity, Francisco Partners, Global IT News, Global Security News, Israel, NSO, NSO Group, paragon, Security, Spyware, surveillance
Israeli spyware maker Paragon bought by U.S. private equity giant
The company’s spyware, dubbed Graphite, is capable of hacking phones and stealing private communications. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Amnesty International, Cellebrite, Donald Trump, Geopolitics, Global Security News, Norway, NoviSpy, NSO Group, pegasus, privacy, Serbia, Spyware, surveillance, Threats
Amnesty International exposes Serbian police’s use of spyware on journalists, activists
Serbian police and intelligence authorities have combined phone-cracking technology with spyware to eavesdrop on activists and journalists there, Amnesty International revealed in a report Monday, in what the human rights group says could be a disturbing preview of a future era of digital surveillance. Amnesty International’s 87-page document surveys the broader picture of digital spying…