According to a lawyer working for the Israeli Spyware manufacturer, the governments of Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were behind the hacking promotion of 2019, which targeted more than 1,200 WhatsApp users, including the NSO group’s pegasus spyware.
Last Thursday, during the cases between WhatsApp and NSO Group, NSO group lawyer Joe Acriterianakis, especially three governments, named spyware-user customers, According to a transcript of the hearing Obtained by TechCrunch this week.
Representatives of this first NSO group have publicly confirmed that the spyware manufacturer’s customers (or were) have argued after refusing to recognize or discuss his client for years, that it was “unable”, a spokesman for the NSO group told Techcunch in 2021, for example.
The uncovering came as part of a case led by the Meta-owned WhatsApp in 2019, which complained of hacking about 1,400 WhatsApp users by using the NSO Group’s vulnerability to the messaging app system from April to May of the same year.
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The contents of the last week’s hearing first revealed Courthouse News ServiceThe
WhatsApp claims that the case has been more targeted by human rights activists, journalists, journalists and “other members of civil society”. Citizens Lab, a Digital Right Group that has investigated government spyware abuse for more than a decade, Said in a report then It helped WhatsApp identify those victims.
Last week, NSO Group lawyer Acriterianakis told the judge that “there are at least eight customers whose names are part of the invention,” but only three naming during the hearing.
At the same time, the lawyer also indicated that a list of countries included A court document Last week, which shows that 1,2223 of the 2019 Spyware promotion shows the countries where the countries were located, this is also a list of customers in the NSO group.
“Pagasus was licensed for regions and it could only be used in those regions,” the NSO group said Akoterianakis referring to the mari spyware of the group.
In addition to Mexico and Uzbekistan, the list of six countries is Bahrain, India, Morocco, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Saudi Arabia mentioned by the NSO group lawyer at the hearing, but not appearing on the list.
This can be explained by the fact that customers in some NSO groups can target people outside their own territory. For example, in 2017, Citizen lab has reported In Mexico, one or more public customers in the NSO group had “situations” to advise one or more government customers that he was targeting several people, including the child of a well -known journalist, inside the United States while he was noticed.
Arriving at TechCunch, NSO Group spokesman Gill Liner refused to comment. When asked, the line did not debate that WhatsApp spyware was a customer of three companies in Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
WhatsApp spokesman Jade Alsway TechCrunch told “The company” is awaiting the upcoming trial to determine the losses and the order against the NSO to maintain WhatsApp and the people’s personal communication. “
Tuesday, Pre-judicialThe judge, who presided over the case, said that when the NSO group said that the documents provided as part of the case were “at least four countries to NSO customers”, “the company did not confirm that these countries were its customers.
“Which of the proven records about which one is opaque [NSO’s] Clients were responsible for the attacks on the issue and thus [WhatsApp] The judge wrote, “In the case of these clients, the procedure of screening was unable to discover proof of whether the procedures were followed.
Over the years, companies such as Citizens Lab and Amnesty International have enrolled cases where pegasus was used to target or hack journalists, unhappy and human rights guard in some of the victim list. Mexico, HungarySpain, and UAEOf the many more.
TechCrunch arrived to comment on the embassies in Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in the United States and we would update the story if we get any response.