How NSO secretly transmitted malicious code to infect phones with spyware

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/sources-of-whatsapp-other-online-messages-must-be-traced-supreme-court-251922">WhatsApp on Tuesday</a> sued Israeli technology firm NSO group for allegedly targeting "human rights defenders and journalists" as part of a concentrated cyber espionage campaign.</p>

<p>WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said a complaint has been <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/whatsapp-threatens-legal-action-against-public-claims-of-messaging-abuses-226344">filed in a US federal court</a> "attributed to technology company called NSO Group."&nbsp;</p>

<p>"As we gathered the information that we lay out in our complaint, we learned that the attackers used servers and Internet-hosting services that were previously associated with NSO," Cathcart said in his blog, adding, "in addition, as our complaint notes, we have tied certain WhatsApp accounts used during the attacks back to NSO."</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Today <a href="https://twitter.com/WhatsApp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhatsApp</a> is taking a stand against the dangerous use of spyware. NSO Group claims they responsibly serve governments, but we found more than 100 human rights defenders and journalists targeted in an attack last May. This abuse must be stopped. <a href="https://t.co/iSMuwLa9yb">https://t.co/iSMuwLa9yb</a></p>
— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) <a href="https://twitter.com/wcathcart/status/1189250601525399552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>"While their attack was highly sophisticated, their attempts to cover their tracks were not entirely successful," Cathcart informed.</p>

<p>"It targeted at least 100 human-rights defenders, journalists and other members of civil society across the world. This should serve as a wake-up call for technology companies, governments and all Internet users," Cathcart warned.</p>

<p>Explaining how NSO reportedly targeted users, Cathcart said: "A user would receive what appeared to be a video call, but this was not a normal call. After the phone rang, the attacker secretly transmitted malicious code in an effort to infect the victim’s phone with spyware. The person did not even have to answer the call."</p>

<p>"Tools that enable surveillance into our private lives are being abused, and the proliferation of this technology into the hands of irresponsible companies and governments puts us all at risk," he said in his blog.</p>

<p>WhatsApp is used by some 1.5 billion people monthly and it uses a highly sophisticated end-to-end encrypted messages that cannot be deciphered by WhatsApp or other third parties.</p>

<p>"NSO has previously denied any involvement in the attack, stating that “under no circumstances would NSO be involved in the operating … of its technology.” But our investigation found otherwise. Now, we are seeking to hold NSO accountable under US state and federal laws, including the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act," Cathcart said.</p>

<p>The lawsuit seeks to have NSO barred from accessing or attempting to access WhatsApp and Facebook's services and seeks unspecified damages.</p>


WhatsApp on Tuesday sued Israeli technology firm NSO group for allegedly targeting "human rights defenders and journalists" as part of a concentrated cyber espionage campaign.

WhatsApp on Tuesday sued Israeli technology firm NSO group for allegedly targeting "human rights defenders and journalists" as part of a concentrated cyber espionage campaign. WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said a complaint has been filed in a US federal court "attributed to technology company called NSO Group." "As we gathered the information that we lay out in our complaint, we learned that the attackers used servers and Internet-hosting services that were previously associated with NSO," Cathcart said in his blog, adding, "in addition, as our complaint notes, we have tied certain WhatsApp accounts used during the attacks back to NSO." Today @WhatsApp is taking a stand against the dangerous use of spyware. NSO Group claims they responsibly serve governments, but we found more than 100 human rights defenders and journalists targeted in an attack last May. This abuse must be stopped. https://t.co/iSMuwLa9yb — Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) October 29, 2019 × "While their attack was highly sophisticated, their attempts to cover their tracks were not entirely successful," Cathcart informed. "It targeted at least 100 human-rights defenders, journalists and other members of civil society across the world. This should serve as a wake-up call for technology companies, governments and all Internet users," Cathcart warned. Explaining how NSO reportedly targeted users, Cathcart said: "A user would receive what appeared to be a video call, but this was not a normal call. After the phone rang, the attacker secretly transmitted malicious code in an effort to infect the victim’s phone with spyware. The person did not even have to answer the call." "Tools that enable surveillance into our private lives are being abused, and the proliferation of this technology into the hands of irresponsible companies and governments puts us all at risk," he said in his blog. WhatsApp is used by some 1.5 billion people monthly and it uses a highly sophisticated end-to-end encrypted messages that cannot be deciphered by WhatsApp or other third parties. "NSO has previously denied any involvement in the attack, stating that “under no circumstances would NSO be involved in the operating … of its technology.” But our investigation found otherwise. Now, we are seeking to hold NSO accountable under US state and federal laws, including the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act," Cathcart said. The lawsuit seeks to have NSO barred from accessing or attempting to access WhatsApp and Facebook's services and seeks unspecified damages.

WhatsApp sues Israel's NSO for alleged cyber espionage, targeting civil society worldwide

WhatsApp, which has over 400 million users of its messaging service in India, plans to roll out its much-awaited payments service in the country later this year, more than a year after it began testing the offering here. The Facebook-owned company has been testing its payments service in the country since last year with about a million users, but could not launch full-fledged services as it has been awaiting regulatory approvals. Speaking at an event here on Thursday, WhatsApp Global Head Will Cathcart said the company's vision is to make sending money as easy as sending messages on the platform.

WhatsApp to roll out payments service in India later this year

will-cathcart

Will Cathcart, News on Will Cathcart, stories on Will Cathcart, articles on Will Cathcart, Will Cathcart stories at Wion, Will Cathcart news, Will Cathcart latest news

will cathcart

How NSO secretly transmitted malicious code to infect phones with spyware

WhatsApp sues Israel's NSO for alleged cyber espionage, targeting civil society worldwide

WhatsApp to roll out payments service in India later this year