Technology

WhatsApp
on Tuesday sued Israeli technology firm NSO Group, accusing it of
using the Facebook-owned messaging service to conduct cyberespionage
on journalists, human rights activists and others.

The
suit filed in a California federal court contended that NSO Group
tried to infect approximately 1,400 “target devices” with
malicious software to steal valuable information from those using the
messaging app.WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said the lawsuit was filed
after an investigation showed the Israeli firm’s role the
cyberattack, despite its denials.

“NSO
Group claims they responsibly serve governments, but we found more
than 100 human rights defenders and journalists targeted in an attack
last May. This abuse must be stopped,” Cathcart said on
Twitter.The lawsuit said the software developed by NSO known as
Pegasus was designed to be remotely installed to hijack devices using
the Android, iOS, and BlackBerry operating systems.

The
complaint said the attackers “reverse-engineered the WhatsApp
app…