News: 0175502293

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Court Documents: Spyware Group NSO's Pegasus Targeted Up To 'Tens of Thousands'

(Tuesday November 19, 2024 @05:40PM (msmash) from the extent-of-damage dept.)


WhatsApp's newly unsealed court documents have exposed the extensive reach of NSO Group's Pegasus spyware operation, which [1]targeted "between hundreds and tens of thousands" of devices , according to testimony from the company's head of research and development. The Israeli surveillance firm charged government customers up to $6.8 million for one-year licenses, generating at least $31 million in revenue in 2019 alone, TechCrunch first reported.

The documents detail previously unknown hacking tools named "Hummingbird," "Eden," and "Heaven," developed specifically to compromise WhatsApp users' devices. The revelations emerge from WhatsApp's ongoing 2019 lawsuit against NSO Group for alleged violations of U.S. anti-hacking laws.

Further reading : [2]NSO, Not Government Clients, Operates Its Spyware .



[1] https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/15/nso-group-admits-cutting-off-10-customers-because-they-abused-its-pegasus-spyware-say-unsealed-court-documents/

[2] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/11/15/2314234/nso-not-government-clients-operates-its-spyware


Literally the brightest in the field (Score:3)

by Tablizer ( 95088 )

"Our software is quite popular, in fact our usage is exploding!"

BiBiFone, get yours today via our grand fire-sale!

Re: (Score:1)

by CEC-P ( 10248912 )

What? I can't hear you on my Brew2 Samsung Character phone. No, for real, I literally can't hear you lol.

if one bowl of ice cream is good... (Score:2)

by Big Hairy Gorilla ( 9839972 )

then 10,000 bowls is just so much better.

This is an obvious outcome..

You know what's better than 10,000 bowls of ice cream?

One BILLION bowls of ice cream. Spin up your own VPN or you're food.

Re: (Score:2)

by The-Ixian ( 168184 )

I get all my fiber from a single bowl of Colon Blow!

Re: (Score:2)

by nightflameauto ( 6607976 )

> I get all my fiber from a single bowl of Colon Blow!

In these parts, we call that Wendy's Chili.

Re: if one bowl of ice cream is good... (Score:2)

by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

That's because it's made with the meat that sat in the drawer too long to be deployed as a burger.

Why isn't the headline 'Israeli Spyware'...? (Score:2)

by BardBollocks ( 1231500 )

... because if it was from a company in Russia or China it definitely would be labeled in such a way.

oh that's right - Propaganda.

Re: (Score:2)

by smooth wombat ( 796938 )

Nope. Anti-semitism. Anytime anything bad is mentioned about Israel, it's anti-semitism. Don't like Jewish terrorists destroying Palestinians farms? You're an anti-semite. Don't like Israel deliberately targeting civilians, doctors, and journalists? Anti-semite. Don't like Israel's genocidal policies? Anti-semite.

There is absolutely no criticism of Israel, in any capacity, which is not anti-semitic. To avoid being labeled as such, the editors leave out that little part.

Why the ridiculous lower bound? (Score:2)

by laughingskeptic ( 1004414 )

The drug cartels certainly accessed more than 100 phones via their friends in the Mexican government who purchased this software "for the government" and then sold access to others. Mexico was not the only country where this business model was employed.

Usually, when a lot of men get together, it's called a war.
-- Mel Brooks, "The Listener"