Meta Platforms announced on March 17, 2025, that it has filed a motion in a US federal court seeking a contempt ruling against NSO Group, the Israeli spyware firm blacklisted by Washington for activities threatening national security.
According to Meta, its messaging app WhatsApp detected and blocked new spear-phishing attacks linked to NSO. These attacks resembled the earlier “1-click” campaign — a type of cyberattack where clicking a malicious link can compromise the victim’s device.
Meta said WhatsApp removed test accounts and groups created by NSO on the platform. NSO did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
In 2024, a US court ordered NSO to stop targeting WhatsApp and reduced the damages NSO must pay Meta from $167 million to $4 million. However, the permanent injunction at the time was seen as a major challenge for NSO, which faces allegations of human rights abuses through its Pegasus spyware.
In the latest development, Meta said that last month, 12 civil rights organizations, a coalition of security researchers, privacy experts, and digital rights advocates filed amicus briefs supporting Meta in opposing NSO’s appeal of the permanent injunction.
