Israeli Spyware Developer Ordered to Pay $167M to Meta Over WhatsApp Hacking Scandal, Capping Landmark Cybersecurity Lawsuit

By: TJVNews.com

In a landmark decision closely watched by the global tech and cybersecurity communities, an American federal jury on Tuesday ordered Israeli spyware developer NSO Group to pay $167 million in damages to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, following a years-long legal battle over unlawful surveillance practices. The ruling, as reported by The New York Times, marks the culmination of a six-year saga that has spotlighted the shadowy world of government-grade spyware and its intrusion into civil society.

The verdict came after U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the Northern District of California ruled in December that NSO Group had violated U.S. cybersecurity laws by deploying its Pegasus spyware to hack into 1,400 WhatsApp accounts across 20 countries. Targets included journalists, human rights activists, government officials, and other civil society actors — all without their knowledge or consent.

Meta filed its lawsuit against NSO in 2019, alleging that the company had breached WhatsApp’s secure servers to inject surveillance software capable of silently hijacking mobile devices. As The New York Times has chronicled since the early stages of the case, Pegasus spyware did not require any action from users — such as clicking a link — and could infiltrate devices silently through missed calls or innocuous-looking text messages.

“This verdict sends a clear signal to the spyware industry: violating the privacy of users and hacking American tech companies will not go unpunished,” Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, said in a statement reported by The New York Times. “This is a critical deterrent to future abuses and a strong message that privacy and safety cannot be compromised for profit.”

Cathcart added that Meta plans to donate the awarded damages to digital rights organizations that work to protect people from cyber exploitation.

The case became even more high-profile when NSO Group executives were called to testify — a rare public appearance from a company that has long operated in the shadows. During the trial, which The New York Times described as an unusually transparent window into the opaque spyware industry, NSO executives defended Pegasus as a vital tool used by legitimate government clients to combat crime and terrorism.

But that justification failed to sway the jury, which deliberated for two days before handing down its decision. Experts say the ruling could reverberate well beyond NSO’s Tel Aviv headquarters.

“This is a serious blow to NSO’s business model,” John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab and a key expert in the case, told The New York Times. “NSO’s business is built on hacking American companies. The result is that dictators can hack dissidents. This verdict clearly underscores that such actions have consequences.”

NSO, for its part, responded defiantly. “We firmly believe that our technology plays a critical role in preventing serious crime and terrorism and is deployed responsibly by authorized government agencies,” said Gil Lainer, the firm’s vice president for global communication. “We will examine all legal remedies, including an appeal.”

As The New York Times has repeatedly noted, NSO Group has faced increasing international scrutiny in recent years. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce blacklisted the company, asserting that NSO’s tools were used in ways that “contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.” That same year, Apple also launched a lawsuit against NSO, though it was later dropped.

The Pegasus software has been widely criticized by privacy advocates, with its ability to infiltrate encrypted messaging apps, access private conversations, and activate phone microphones and cameras without detection. The New York Times previously reported that early versions of the software required user interaction — such as clicking on a malicious link — but later iterations became “zero-click,” silently taking over devices without any user input.

The verdict, in the view of many legal and tech experts, sets a precedent that companies producing digital weapons can no longer act with impunity — particularly when targeting U.S.-based platforms.

“This isn’t just a win for WhatsApp or Meta,” said Cathcart. “It’s a win for the fundamental rights of people around the world who expect to communicate privately and securely.”

As global awareness of surveillance abuses grows, this decision — hailed by The New York Times as a milestone — is likely to embolden other tech giants and civil society advocates to take similar legal actions against firms in the burgeoning spyware industry.

In a world increasingly shaped by digital conflict, the courtroom may become one of the most critical arenas for defending democratic values and individual privacy. Tuesday’s verdict may be only the beginning.