Jury Rules in Favor of Meta in Pegasus Spyware Case

A jury has delivered a verdict that requires the company behind the notorious Pegasus spyware to pay Meta a substantial sum of over $167 million in damages. This ruling marks a significant victory for Meta, culminating a prolonged legal battle with the NSO Group.

Meta had initially sued the NSO Group in 2019 due to the distribution of malware through WhatsApp. At that time, Meta stated that more than 1,400 individuals across 20 countries had been targeted, including journalists and human rights activists. The company described the incident as a “highly sophisticated cyber attack” that spread malware via video calls, even when the calls were unanswered. Last year, a judge ruled in favor of Meta, finding the Israeli company to have violated the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The recent verdict followed a week-long jury trial to determine the amount of damages NSO should pay to Meta.

The jury ultimately awarded Meta $444,719 in compensatory damages and $167,254,000 in punitive damages. In a statement, Carl Woog, WhatsApp’s VP of Global Communications, characterized the verdict as “a critical deterrent to this malicious industry against their illegal acts aimed at American companies and the privacy and security of the people we serve.”

NSO Group, describing itself as a “cyber intelligence” firm, has claimed that it is not possible to use Pegasus on US phone numbers. In court, the firm’s lawyers argued that WhatsApp did not suffer any harm from Pegasus, according to Courthouse News Service.

In response to the verdict, NSO’s Gil Lainer stated that it was “another step in a lengthy judicial process” and indicated that the company would pursue “further proceedings” or an appeal. Lainer emphasized, “We firmly believe that our technology plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism and is deployed responsibly by authorized government agencies. This perspective, validated by extensive real-world evidence and numerous security operations that have saved many lives, including American lives, was excluded from the jury’s consideration in this case.”

Carl Woog of WhatsApp noted that Meta is aware it has “a long road ahead” to collect damages from NSO. He expressed the company’s desire to make a donation to digital rights organizations dedicated to defending people against such attacks worldwide. Furthermore, Meta plans to pursue a court order to prevent NSO from targeting WhatsApp in the future.