INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Israeli technology firm NSO Group, accusing it of using the Facebook-owned messaging service to conduct cyberespionage on journalists, human
rights activists and others.The suit filed in a California federal court contended that NSO Group tried to infect approximately 1,400
"target devices" with malicious software to steal valuable information from those using the messaging app.WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said
the lawsuit was filed after an investigation showed the Israeli firm's role the cyberattack, despite its denials."NSO Group claims they
responsibly serve governments, but we found more than 100 human rights defenders and journalists targeted in an attack last May
This abuse must be stopped," Cathcart said on Twitter.The lawsuit said the software developed by NSO known as Pegasus was designed to be
remotely installed to hijack devices using the Android, iOS, and BlackBerry operating systems.The complaint said the attackers
"reverse-engineered the WhatsApp app and developed a program to enable them to emulate legitimate WhatsApp network traffic in order to
transmit malicious code" to take over the devices."While their attack was highly sophisticated, their attempts to cover their tracks were
not entirely successful," Cathcart said in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, noting that the investigation found
internet-hosting services and accounts associated with NSO.The suit calls on court to order NSO Group to stop any such attacks and asks for
unspecified damages.WhatsApp in May called on users to upgrade the application to plug a security hole that allowed for the injection of
sophisticated malware that could be used for spying at the messaging app used by 1.5 billion people around the world.The malicious code was
transmitted through WhatsApp servers from about April 29 to May 10, targeting devices of attorneys, journalists, human rights activists,
political dissidents, diplomats, and other senior foreign government officials, according to the complaint."A user would receive what
appeared to be a video call, but this was not a normal call," Cathcart said of the cyberattack."After the phone rang, the attacker secretly
transmitted malicious code in an effort to infect the victim's phone with spyware
The person did not even have to answer the call."Fighting 'Crime And Terror'The NSO Group came to prominence in 2016 when researchers
accused it of helping spy on an activist in the United Arab Emirates.Its best-known product is Pegasus, a highly invasive tool that can
reportedly switch on a target's phone camera and microphone, and access data on it.The firm has been adamant that it only licenses its
software to governments for "fighting crime and terror" and that it investigates credible allegations of misuse, but activists argue the
technology has been instead used for human rights abuses.Danna Ingleton of Amnesty International said the results of the WhatsApp
investigation "underscore that NSO Group continues to profit from its spyware products being used to intimidate, track, and punish scores of
human rights defenders across the globe, including the Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico."Ingleton said Amesty and
other groups are seeking in the Israeli courts to block NSO for exporting the technology."WhatsApp deserves credit for their tough stance
against these malicious attacks, including their efforts to hold NSO to account in the courts," she said.Get Breaking news, live coverage,
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