U.S. Court Permanently Bars NSO Group from Targeting WhatsApp, Threatening Its Business Model

A U.S. district court has issued a permanent injunction against NSO Group, prohibiting the Israeli spyware firm from exploiting vulnerabilities in Meta's WhatsApp platform. Judge Phyllis Hamilton's 25-page order, issued on October 18, effectively blocks NSO's Pegasus spyware from accessing WhatsApp's two billion users—a critical infiltration vector for the surveillance tool.

The ruling delivers a potentially existential blow to NSO. Court filings reveal the company warned that losing WhatsApp access WOULD "put NSO's entire enterprise at risk" and could "force NSO out of business." Pegasus has relied heavily on WhatsApp as an entry point to harvest texts, calls, and location data from targets' phones.

While the injunction is severe, Judge Hamilton granted NSO partial relief by slashing damages owed to Meta from $167 million to just $4 million—a 97% reduction. The company welcomed the financial reprieve but faces operational paralysis from the WhatsApp ban. NSO claims the injunction doesn't restrict its government clients, asserting they'll "continue using the company's" services.