Security News > 2020 > April > Spyware maker NSO can't claim immunity, Facebook lawyers insist – it's time to face the music

Attorneys for Facebook and its WhatsApp subsidiary have challenged a plea from spyware maker NSO Group to dismiss the high-level hacking case the two are fighting out, arguing it has immunity from prosecution.

Facebook sued the Israel-based NSO Group and its affiliate Q Cyber Technologies last October in the US, alleging the firms "Manufactured, distributed, and operated surveillance software, also known as 'spyware,' designed to intercept and extract information and communications from mobile phones and devices of WhatsApp users."

The UN report suggests NSO Group's Pegasus software may have been involved, a claim the Israeli company has denied.

It subsequently claimed Facebook tried to buy NSO technology to monitor the social network's since discontinued Onavo VPN. And hoping to get the case dismissed, NSO Group has argued it is immune because it only sells to governments.

Facebook's court filing also cites the NSO's financing from a California equity firm to show jurisdiction and the fact that one of its board members resides in the US. In a statement emailed to The Register, an NSO Group spokesperson said, "Our products are used to stop terrorism, curb violent crime, and save lives. NSO Group does not operate the Pegasus software for its clients, nor can it be used against US mobile phone numbers, or against a device within the geographic bounds of the United States."

News URL

https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/24/nso_group_cant_claim_immunity/