Facebook-owned WhatsApp is suing Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group over the firm’s alleged involvement in cyberespionage campaigns targeting journalists, human rights defenders and others via the popular messaging app. According to WhatsApp, an investigation found that NSO Group attempted to exploit the messaging app in order to install malware on around 1,400 “target devices” earlier this year. Will Cathcart, who heads WhatsApp, said that “NSO Group claims they responsibly serve governments, but we found more than 100 human rights defenders and journalists targeted in an attack last May,” adding that “this abuse must be stopped.”
NSO Group has been the subject of similar accusations before. Earlier this month, a report by Amnesty International accused the company of providing the Moroccan government with cyber espionage tools that were used to target a freedom of expression activist and a human rights lawyer in the country.
Read more: WhatsApp Sues Israeli Firm NSO Over Cyberespionage
