US Court Blocks Spyware Maker NSO Over WhatsApp Hack www.databreachtoday.com/us-court-…

A U.S. federal judge permanently blocked a major spyware vendor from using its technology to hack one of the world’s most widely used encrypted messaging apps.

U.S. District for the District of Northern California Judge Phyllis Hamilton permanently enjoined Israeli spyware-maker NSO Group from reverse engineering or decompiling WhatsApp code. A California jury earlier found NSO Group used a zero-day exploit to illegally reverse-engineer WhatsApp in a breach that compromised 1,400 user devices. A spokesperson for the Meta-owned chat app previously called NSO Group a “notorious foreign spyware merchant” and praised the verdict as “an important step forward for privacy and security”

The zero-day exploit enabled NSO Group to help government clients target specific users like diplomats, human rights activists and journalists who use the encrypted messaging for work purposes

Despite NSO Group warning the court that a permanent injunction “would put NSO’s entire enterprise at risk” and force it out of business, the judge determined that the move was in the public’s best interest in the U.S. Under the ruling, NSO Group must delete and destroy any coding related to WhatsApp and can no longer target the company.