Security News

Tech Giants Lend WhatsApp Support in Spyware Case Against NSO Group
2020-12-22 16:24

Facebook subsidiary WhatsApp has received new high-caliber support in its case against Israeli intelligence company NSO Group. The court case aims to hold NSO Group accountable for distributing its Pegasus spyware on the popular WhatsApp messaging service with the intent of planting its spyware on phones of journalists and human rights workers.

Israeli spyware maker NSO channels Hollywood spy thrillers in appeal for legal immunity in WhatsApp battle
2020-11-17 23:22

Israeli spyware maker NSO Group has taken a leaf out of Hollywood in an attempt to avoid any legal repercussions from making and selling tools that hack WhatsApp users' phones. When NSO failed to turn up in court in the US state, Facebook claimed victory; and NSO accused it of lying and having failed to serve the legal documents.

Facebook’s NSO Group Lawsuit Over WhatsApp Spying Set to Proceed
2020-07-20 17:24

Facebook's lawsuit against NSO Group over alleged spying on WhatsApp users will be allowed to go forward. WhatsApp-owner Facebook is alleging that NSO Group exploited a vulnerability in WhatsApp to deploy its spyware against human rights activists, journalists and political dissidents.

Judge green-lights Facebook, WhatsApp hacking lawsuit against spyware biz NSO, unleashing Zuck's lawyers
2020-07-17 19:27

Facebook won a significant legal victory on Thursday when the judge hearing the lawsuit against Israeli spyware maker NSO Group declined to dismiss the case - and allowed the crucial discovery process to move forward. Last October, Facebook and its WhatsApp subsidiary sued NSO Group, and its Q Cyber Technologies affiliate, in the Northern District of California.

Israel Court Rejects Amnesty Petition Against Spyware Firm NSO
2020-07-13 14:33

An Israeli court Monday rejected a bid by rights group Amnesty International to revoke the export license of spyware firm NSO Group over hacking allegations. NSO has faced multiple accusations of cyber-espionage on human rights activists and others, including by the messaging service WhatsApp, which is suing the company in a US court.

Spyware by Israel's NSO Used Against Journalist: Amnesty
2020-06-22 12:38

Amnesty International said Monday that software developed by Israeli security firm NSO Group was used to attack a Moroccan journalist, the latest in a series of allegations against the company. Amnesty said the Moroccan authorities used NSO's Pegasus software to insert spyware onto the cellphone of Omar Radi, a journalist convicted in March over a social media post.

NSO Group Impersonates Facebook Security Team to Spread Spyware — Report
2020-05-22 14:12

According to an investigative journalist team, the Israeli authors of the infamous Pegasus mobile spyware, NSO Group, have been using a spoofed Facebook login page, crafted to look like an internal Facebook security team portal, to lure victims in. The news comes as Facebook alleges that NSO Group has been using U.S.-based infrastructure to launch espionage attacks.

Senator demands deep probe into spyware-for-cops after NSO Group touts hacking toolkit to American plod
2020-05-13 21:57

Senator Ron Wyden was reacting to Vice's discovery of a brochure by Westbridge Technologies - the US sales wing of the controversial NSO Group - which pitched NSO's Pegasus technology, rebadged as Phantom, to a police force in San Diego, California. The reference to spying on an ex-partner relates to claims that an employee of NSO Group who was caught using the firm's technology to spy on a woman they were interested in romantically.

Senator demands deep probe into spyware-for-cops after NSO Group touts hacking toolkit to American plod
2020-05-13 21:57

Senator Ron Wyden was reacting to Vice's discovery of a brochure by Westbridge Technologies - the US sales wing of the controversial NSO Group - which pitched NSO's Pegasus technology, rebadged as Phantom, to a police force in San Diego, California. The reference to spying on an ex-partner relates to claims that an employee of NSO Group who was caught using the firm's technology to spy on a woman they were interested in romantically.

Spyware slinger NSO to Facebook: Pretty funny you're suing us in California when we have no US presence and use no American IT services...
2020-05-01 20:55

Israeli spyware maker NSO Group has rubbished Facebook's claim it can be sued in California because it allegedly uses American IT services and has a business presence in the US. Last October, Facebook and its WhatsApp subsidiary sued the software developer and its affiliate Q Cyber Technologies in California, claiming that the firms made, distributed, and operated surveillance software known as Pegasus that remotely infects, hijacks, and extracts data from the smartphones of WhatsApp users. WhatsApp security manager Claudiu Gheorghe in a previous filing identified 720 malicious attacks on WhatsApp from the IP address 104.223.76.220, a server in California provided by QuadraNet and allegedly run by NSO. QuadraNet did not immediately respond to The Register's request to clarify the account holder for that IP address.