Over the years, Citizen Lab has kept a close eye on NSO Group, an Israeli spyware firm, and its flagship product, Pegasus. In 2019, Citizen Lab reported finding multiple instances where Pegasus was used to target journalists and human rights defenders through a WhatsApp security vulnerability.
Currently, NSO Group is blacklisted by the U.S. government for selling spyware to oppressive regimes. The company is attempting to gain insights into Citizen Lab’s analysis through a lawsuit related to the WhatsApp exploit.
The lawsuit, filed by WhatsApp and Meta in U.S. federal court in 2019, alleges that NSO distributed Pegasus and other malware to about 1,400 devices worldwide. Despite NSO’s efforts, the case has not been dismissed after more than four years.
As the lawsuit progresses, NSO is now requesting that Citizen Lab, based in Canada, provide all documents related to its Pegasus investigation. However, a judge recently denied NSO’s latest request to access Citizen Lab’s materials.
Citizen Lab’s lawyers argued that sharing their raw work with NSO could expose victims of NSO’s activities to further harassment and hinder their future work. NSO has not commented on the lawsuit.
In recent years, NSO has been on a mission to restore its reputation, especially after being blacklisted in 2021. Following the Hamas attacks in October, the company sought a meeting with the State Department to discuss Pegasus as a crucial tool in combating terrorism.
NSO faces other lawsuits in U.S. courts over Pegasus, including cases involving Salvadoran journalists, Apple, and Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, the widow of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. These lawsuits rely to some extent on Citizen Lab’s research.
The WhatsApp lawsuit has not been in NSO’s favor so far, with courts rejecting arguments of immunity and jurisdiction. In a significant development, NSO has been ordered to disclose its software code for Pegasus and any other spyware targeting WhatsApp servers.
Despite obtaining documents from Meta and WhatsApp, NSO has failed in its attempts to gather more information directly from Citizen Lab. The court has deemed NSO’s demands as overbroad and unnecessary.
Citizen Lab’s director, Ronald Deibert, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision, stating that NSO’s request for information was excessive and not essential in resolving the disputed issues.
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