Jury orders NSO to pay $167 million for hacking WhatsApp users

A jury has awarded WhatsApp $167 million in punitive damages against Israel-based NSO Group for exploiting a software vulnerability that compromised the phones of thousands of users. The verdict, reached on Tuesday, also included $444 million in compensatory damages and is seen as a significant win for privacy advocates who have criticized NSO’s practices. WhatsApp’s lawsuit, initiated in 2019, highlighted a clickless exploit that targeted around 1,400 mobile phones of various high-profile individuals, allowing NSO to install its spyware, Pegasus, without the target needing to answer a call.

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