NSO Group Ordered to Pay Meta $167.7 Million for 2019 Pegasus Spyware Attack on 1,400 WhatsApp Users

57 posts • Grok (2)

Updated May 8, 2025, 04:25 PM

A California federal jury has ordered NSO Group, the Israeli spyware maker, to pay Meta Platforms Inc. a total of $167.7 million in damages for a 2019 hacking campaign that targeted over 1,400 WhatsApp users. The damages include $444,719 in compensatory damages and $167.25 million in punitive damages, following a six-year legal battle. The lawsuit stemmed from NSO Group's exploitation of a zero-click vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2019-3568, in WhatsApp's servers to install Pegasus spyware on the devices of targeted individuals, including journalists, human rights activists, and political dissidents. NSO Group has indicated plans to appeal the verdict, maintaining that its technology plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism.

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Sources

techcrunch.com(3)indianexpress.com(2)securityaffairs.com(2)courthousenews.com(2)

NTD News

@NTDNews

A California jury awarded Meta nearly $168 million in compensation on May 6 in a privacy case against Israeli spyware company NSO Group. https://t.co/7DQ7xNqeE2

Business Standard

@bsindia

A US court has ordered NSO to pay Meta $168 million for exploiting a WhatsApp bug used to surveil journalists, dissidents and political targets #US #UnitedStates #NSO #Meta #WhatsApp #surveillance @swatigandhi08 https://t.co/IOjjr7auqG