Written By Shubham Bose
While AI stranded in its effort in Israel [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/07/15/amnesty-internationals-bid-to-block-spyware-company-nso-fails-in-israeli-court/ ] a federal US court has passed an order allowing WhatsApp to move forward with its case against the Israeli company for allegedly targeting 1,400 users with malware in 2019. According to reports, it is believed that spyware produced by the Israeli firm NSO Group was used to target various groups of people around the world, such as journalists, human rights defenders, and even politicians. [see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2019/10/30/nso-accused-of-largest-attack-on-civil-society-through-its-spyware/
Judge Phyllis Hamilton, in her ruling on the cases, stated that she was not convinced by NSO Group’s claims and arguments that it had no hand in targeting WhatsApp users. Moving forward in the trial, the NSO Group might be forced to reveal its clients and make the list public.
The judge also added that even if NSO was operating at the direction of its customer, it still appeared to have a hand in targeting WhatsApp users. As per reports, a WhatsApp spokesperson said the Facebook-owned venture was pleasd with the court’s decision and will now be able to uncover the practices of NSO Group.
Even in the face of criticism from privacy advocates, the company has claimed that law enforcement agencies are facing difficulties due to the proliferation of encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp.
The law firm King & Spalding has reportedly been hired by the NSO group to represent them. Among the company’s legal team is Rod Rosenstein, Trump administration’s former attorney general. The NSO Group has reportedly had multiple government clients like Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates who have used spyware to target political opponents and human rights, campaigners.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
December 22, 2020 at 12:40
[…] The brief, filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, opens up a new front in Facebook’s lawsuit against NSO, which it filed last year after it was revealed that the cyber surveillance firm had exploited a bug in Facebook-owned instant messaging program WhatsApp to help surveil more than 1,400 people worldwide. See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/07/20/the-ups-and-downs-in-sueing-the-nso-group/ […]
January 6, 2021 at 17:54
[…] These attacks and many others that are unreported show that spyware tools and the intrusion business have a significant abuse potential and that bad actors or governments can’t resist the temptation to use such tools against political opponents, journalists, and human rights defenders. Due to the lack of operational due-diligence of spyware companies, these companies don’t consider the impact of the use of their tools on the civilian population nor comply with human rights policies. [see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/07/20/the-ups-and-downs-in-sueing-the-nso-group/%5D […]