In a significant legal stride, a U.S. judge has ruled that NSO Group must surrender its source code for Pegasus and other software to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp. This decision marks a pivotal victory for Meta, which initiated legal action against the Israeli spyware vendor in October 2019. The lawsuit was prompted by the exploitation of WhatsApp’s infrastructure to disseminate the Pegasus spyware to roughly 1,400 mobile devices, including those of two dozen Indian activists and journalists, during April and May of that year.
The attacks exploited a zero-day vulnerability within the instant messaging application, specifically a critical buffer overflow flaw in its voice call functionality (CVE-2019-3568, CVSS score: 9.8). Notably, Pegasus could be deployed simply by placing a call, even if unanswered, and took measures to erase call data from logs to evade detection.
According to court documents unveiled last month, NSO Group has been instructed to furnish details regarding the complete functionality of the relevant spyware. This encompasses the period extending from one year before the purported attack to one year after (i.e., April 29, 2018, to May 10, 2020). However, the company has been exempted from divulging specifics concerning its server architecture, with the court deeming Meta capable of extracting such information from the spyware’s functionality. Notably, NSO Group has been absolved from disclosing the identities of its clientele, prompting disappointment from Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab.
This development transpires against the backdrop of NSO Group’s prior sanctioning by the U.S. government in 2021 for its role in developing and furnishing cyber weapons to foreign entities. These tools were reportedly employed to target government officials, journalists, activists, and other individuals.
Meanwhile, Meta faces heightened scrutiny from EU privacy and consumer groups concerning its “pay or okay” subscription model, criticized as coercing users into choosing between paying a “privacy fee” or consenting to tracking by the company. Critics argue that such a model compromises privacy as a fundamental right and contravenes GDPR regulations, exacerbating existing digital disparities.
In a separate revelation, Recorded Future has unearthed a sophisticated multi-tiered delivery infrastructure associated with Predator, a mobile spyware managed by the Intellexa Alliance. This infrastructure, likely linked to Predator customers across various countries including Angola, Armenia, and Saudi Arabia, underscores the persistent challenges posed by clandestine surveillance operations.
Despite efforts by Predator operators to adapt to public disclosures by modifying aspects of their infrastructure, their operational patterns remain largely unchanged. Notably, Sekoia’s report on the Predator spyware ecosystem highlights a surge in generic malicious domains, indicative of an escalation in cyber threats across multiple regions.
In conclusion, the U.S. court’s decision compelling NSO Group to relinquish Pegasus spyware code to Meta signals a pivotal moment in the ongoing battle against illicit surveillance practices. However, challenges persist as the landscape of cyber threats continues to evolve, necessitating sustained vigilance and collaborative efforts to safeguard digital privacy and security on a global scale.
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