Meta awarded $167.25 million over Pegasus spyware attack

The federal court in California ruled that NSO Group, the spyware company behind Pegasus, must pay $167.25 million to Meta for hacking 1,400 users across WhatsApp, citing a vulnerability that allowed Pegasus installation without user consent. The jury awarded Meta $444,719 in compensatory damages after finding NSO liable for the targeted attacks on activists and journalists. Moving forward, Meta plans to seek a court order to prevent NSO from continuing its WhatsApp exploitation and has shared deposition transcripts as part of its case.