After WhatsApp won its lawsuit against NSO Group (as seen in this topic), a seperate damages trial has once again dealt a blow against the spyware company. A judge ruled that they cannot identify the suspected customers or victims as evidence raised during the trial.
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.”