Security News > 2020 > December > Tech Giants Show Support for WhatsApp in Lawsuit Against Spyware Firm
Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub, Google, LinkedIn, VMware and the Internet Association have filed an amicus brief in support of WhatsApp in the legal case against the NSO Group.
Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp filed the lawsuit in October 2019 in California, accusing Israeli technology firm NSO Group of spying on journalists, human rights activists and others.
WhatsApp says that NSO Group attempted to infect approximately 1,400 devices with spyware in an effort to steal sensitive information from WhatsApp users.
NSO Group claims that its Pegasus spyware is in fact a legitimate cyber-surveillance tool meant to help government organizations fight terrorism and other type of crime.
The amicus brief that Microsoft and others filed in support of WhatsApp underlines that the trading of software such Pegasus is concerning due to possible misuse by threat actors, because NSO does not share information on vulnerabilities it finds in targeted platforms, and because NSO and similar companies threaten human rights.