US jury orders makers of Pegasus spyware to pay WhatsApp $168 million in damages

A United States jury on Tuesday ordered Israeli spyware firm NSO Group to pay WhatsApp $167.3 million, or over Rs 1,417 crore, in punitive damages in a 2019 cyber espionage case, AFP reported.

The jury also ordered the NSO group to pay $444,719, or over Rs 37 lakh, as compensatory damages.

In late 2019, WhatsApp, owned by United States-based technology company Meta, sued the company in a Northern California federal court for allegedly installing Pegasus spyware on users’ phones including those of journalists and activists via the messaging app.

The messaging platform has alleged that the NSO Group’s spyware had been used against 1,400 users of the application over a two-week period in April and May 2019.

In December, a US judge had ruled in the social media company’s favour, holding that the NSO Group illegally used a flaw in WhatsApp to install spyware on users’ phones. The case then proceeded on the question of damages.

Meta said on Tuesday that the verdict was an important step forward for privacy and security. It described it “ as the first victory against the development and use of illegal spyware that threatens the safety and privacy of everyone”.

NSO’s vice president for global communication, Gil Lainer, said they will “carefully examine the verdict's details and pursue appropriate legal...

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