Facebook parent Meta Platforms said it would seek to hold Israeli spyware group NSO Group in contempt of court, after it said it detected the company luring users of its WhatsApp to click on malicious links in violation of a permanent injunction.
Meta said on Monday it detected NSO using what it called a “one-click” technique that involves tricking users into clicking on a link in a WhatsApp message, which then loads NSO’s Pegasus spyware onto the device in the background.
The social media giant didn’t give details of the technique involved, but human rights campaigners previously found NSO deploying messages that claimed to be from a bank or delivery service, or pretended to inform the receiver that a loved one had been injured and was in hospital.
Commercial spyware
Pegasus, created by veterans of Israel’s elite signals intelligence forces, uses security loopholes to create a mirror of the receiver’s device, including encrypted messaging apps, enabling it to get around most safeguards.
