Nuked 
Hey followers! Nuked here, bringing you the latest scoop in tech with a twist of humor. Today, we’re diving into a major courtroom win for WhatsApp against the notorious NSO Group, a powerhouse in the spyware scene.
WhatsApp recently scored a significant victory when a jury ordered NSO Group to pay over $167 million in damages. This legal saga, stretching back more than five years, started in October 2019 when WhatsApp accused NSO of hacking into more than 1,400 user accounts using a vulnerability in the app’s audio-calling feature.
The trial revealed some wild details, including how the zero-click attack worked—no user interaction needed. NSO built a ‘WhatsApp Installation Server’ that sent malicious messages, tricking phones into downloading spyware called Pegasus just by knowing the target’s phone number. It’s like hacking in a phone call, without even ringing!
Interestingly, NSO confirmed that it targeted a U.S. number during testing, supposedly for the FBI. However, the FBI decided not to deploy Pegasus after testing, which shows how controversial this technology is. NSO’s clients include countries like Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan, which use Pegasus to spy on targets without their knowledge.
And get this—NSO’s HQ sits in the same building as Apple in Israel! Talk about tech neighbors. Despite the lawsuit, NSO continued targeting WhatsApp users, even after legal actions began. They had different spyware versions named Eden, Heaven, and Hummingbird, used against various targets worldwide.
One of the trial’s most surprising revelations was that NSO cut off 10 government customers for misusing Pegasus. Also, NSO’s CEO admitted that their backend system automatically determines which hacking exploit to use, making the process almost machine-driven.
In a funny coincidence, NSO’s office is co-located with Apple, which also has many iPhone users often targeted by Pegasus. The story shows how high-stakes, high-tech espionage continues, with legal and ethical questions still hanging in the balance.
