"Judge limits evidence about NSO Group customers, victims in damages trial" 21 April 2025

A federal judge last week placed strict limits on the kind of evidence NSO Group can raise during a trial on damages in the lawsuit WhatsApp brought against the spyware vendor over allegations it hacked 1,400 of the messaging platform’s users.

Under the order, NSO Group is prohibited from presenting evidence about its customers’ identities, implying  the targeted WhatsApp users are suspected or actual criminals, or alleging that WhatsApp had insufficient security protections.

It’s a ruling that strikes at NSO Group’s fundamental strategy in the case, said Natalia Krapiva, senior tech-legal counsel at Access Now. 

“This ruling is a win not just for WhatsApp but also for WhatsApp’s users who were victims of Pegasus hacking,” she said. “NSO’s strategy has been to try to attack the reputation of civil society victims, claiming that they were in fact criminals and terrorists and therefore deserved to be hacked. The court’s ruling will make it very difficult for NSO to launch such attacks. The trial will have to be focused on the conduct of NSO Group, not its clients or victims. As it should.”...

...[Judge] Hamilton ruled in favor of WhatsApp last December in an unprecedented legal blow against NSO Group. Courts have proven a difficult avenue to challenge spyware makers.

A spokesman for the Israel-based firm declined comment...