A U.S. court has ordered NSO Group to stop targeting Meta Platforms’META.O WhatsApp messaging service.
In a 25-page ruling handed down Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton imposed a permanent injunction on NSO Group’s efforts to break into WhatsApp, one of the world’s most widely used communications platforms.
The injunction is likely to pose a challenge to NSO, which has for years been accused of facilitating human rights abuses through its flagship hacking tool, Pegasus, according to Reuters.
Pegasus takes advantage of weaknesses in commonly deployed pieces of software to power its surveillance, making WhatsApp one of its bigger targets.
Meta executives celebrated the decision.
“Today’s ruling bans spyware maker NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and our global users again,” WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart said on X. “We applaud this decision that comes after six years of litigation to hold NSO accountable for targeting members of civil society.”
