Fighting Spyware: An Update From WhatsApp – About Meta

Last year, WhatsApp made history by securing a landmark verdict and permanent injunction barring NSO Group — a spyware firm blacklisted for actions contrary to US national security — from targeting WhatsApp and its users ever again. The court was unequivocal: NSO violated the federal and state laws against hacking. Today, we’re asking the court to hold them in contempt of that order. Catching and Disrupting NSO’s Targeting Attempts We successfully disrupted NSO-linked social engineering attempts, after investigating user reports. They tried to trick people into clicking on malicious links to drive them to external websites outside of WhatsApp, similar to previously reported 1-click phishing campaigns linked to NSO. We also caught them creating test accounts and groups on WhatsApp, which we took down.  We are sharing threat indicators so that anyone can check if they were targeted by NSO-linked social engineering attempts across any platform — be it text message, email, WhatsApp message, or something else. Spyware Is a National Security Threat Since 2019, our case has shown that NSO continues to build spyware tools to target people’s devices. Its CEO confirmed in court that the company  looks for “vectors, or ways to access the phone” beyond WhatsApp, targeting
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