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The Court Order ViolationA spyware firm has been targeting WhatsApp users with malicious links in contravention of a US court order forbidding it from doing so, Meta has revealed. In a post, Meta stated that WhatsApp had "caught and disrupted spear phishing attempts" by NSO Group, which targeted a handful of users in Jordan and Lebanon. The company also caught NSO creating "test accounts and groups" on WhatsApp.Spyware Tactics Against WhatsAppNSO, founded in Israel but now under US ownership, built the Pegasus spyware - one of the most powerful surveillance tools ever developed. The spyware exploited a vulnerability in WhatsApp to infiltrate users' phones and harvest all their data including messages, photos, calls and more. Despite losing a court case against Meta for exploiting WhatsApp, the company appears to have resumed targeting users.Legal Consequences and Financial PenaltiesLast year, NSO lost a court case against Meta for exploiting WhatsApp to target people. Meta was initially awarded $167m in damages, though this was later reduced to $4m. More significantly, the court placed a permanent injunction against NSO barring it from targeting WhatsApp and its users. Meta now argues that the latest attacks show NSO has violated this injunction and has asked the court to hold the company in contempt of the order.NSO's Market Strategy and RebrandingSince the start of the Trump administration, reporting has suggested that NSO is searching for a way into the US market. The company is trying to get off the US commerce department "blacklist," which bars it from doing business with US companies without specific approval. NSO appointed David Friedman, the former US ambassador to Israel, as executive chair last autumn and has engaged a lobbying firm close to the US president in what appears to be an effort to rebrand as an ethical spyware company.Meta's Response and Industry ImplicationsMeta has strongly denied allegations that WhatsApp can access users' encrypted communications, calling any such claims "false." The company's spokesperson Rachel Holland stated: "WhatsApp cannot access people's encrypted communications and any suggestion to the contrary is false." Industry experts note that NSO's continued targeting of WhatsApp despite court restrictions undermines its efforts to rebrand as an ethical company and gain access to the lucrative US market.

The Legal Battle Between Meta and NSO Meta has said it is filing a federal US court contempt order against Israeli spyware firm NSO Group for violating a permanent injunction that barred it from ever targeting WhatsApp and its users. Disrupting Spear Phishing Attempts The company said on Monday that its WhatsApp messaging service disrupted new spear phishing attempts linked to NSO, an entity blacklisted by the United States government for engaging in activities that are contrary to national security or foreign policy interests. The Nature of the Attacks These attempts were similar to previous “1-click phishing campaigns”, aimed to trick users into clicking malicious links and direct them to external websites, Meta said in a blogpost. A “1-click” is a type of cyberattack where a single click on a malicious link or attachment is sufficient to compromise a victim’s device or account, without requiring them to enter their credentials. Previous Rulings and Implications Last year, a US court ordered NSO to stop targeting Meta’s WhatsApp, a development the spyware company warned could put it out of business. While the ruling significantly reduced the punitive damages NSO owed Meta to $4m from an initial $167m, the injunction itself was seen as a substantial challenge for the company, which faces ongoing accusations of enabling human rights abuses through its Pegasus hacking tool. Support from Civil Rights Organisations Meta said on Monday that last month it was joined by 12 prominent civil rights organisations, a coalition of security researchers, privacy advocates and digital rights experts, who filed their amicus briefs to fight NSO’s appeal against the permanent injunction.