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The ju approves punitive damages in $167 million in whatsApp if it also filed by the company against an Israeli-based NSO group to exploit the vulnerability of software that hijacked the mobile phones of thousands of users.
The verdict reached Tuesday is a major victory not only for meta-owned WhatsApp, but also for privacy and security rights advocates who have long criticized the practices of NSOs and other exploit sellers. The ry umpire also awarded WhatsApp $444 million in compensatory damages.
Clickless Exploit
WhatsApp sued the NSO in 2019 for an attack targeting around 1,400 mobile phones belonging to lawyers, journalists, human rights activists, political opponents, diplomats and senior foreign government officials. Working on behalf of governments and law enforcement agencies of various countries, NSOs have exploited a critical WhatsApp vulnerability that allows the installation of NSO proprietary spyware Pegasus on iOS and Android devices. The clickless exploit worked by calling the target app. The target did not have to answer the call to infect it.
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