Meta seeks contempt ruling against NSO Group over alleged WhatsApp targeting
The US social media giant reports disrupting an attack on fewer than 10 users in Jordan and Lebanon, with no evidence of compromise.
Meta has petitioned a US federal court to hold Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group in contempt for allegedly violating a 2024 injunction that prohibits the company from targeting WhatsApp users. The legal motion follows Meta’s disruption of a spear-phishing campaign linked to NSO, which targeted fewer than 10 individuals, primarily located in Jordan and Lebanon.
According to a Meta spokesperson, the company identified a cluster of accounts associated with NSO attempting to trick users into clicking malicious links. The firm disclosed the domains associated with the phishing campaign to allow users to verify if they had been targeted on WhatsApp or other platforms.
Meta confirmed that no signs of compromise were detected among the identified targets. The spokesperson stated, "We have not seen signs of compromise among identified targets," while noting that the campaign involved fewer than 10 users.
The dispute is part of a broader legal battle dating back to 2019, when Meta sued NSO Group over the use of its Pegasus spyware against human rights activists, journalists, and political dissidents. A jury previously awarded Meta $167 million in damages, though a judge later reduced this amount to $4 million.
The judgment included a permanent injunction prohibiting NSO from targeting WhatsApp and its users. Meta alleges that NSO violated the terms of that order less than a year after the injunction was issued. Meta has reached out to NSO Group for comment regarding these allegations.
