Apple sues the maker of Pegasus spyware that specializes in stealing data on iPhones

Apple says that government-sponsored attacks often use NSO spyware to target only a small number of individuals across multiple platforms including iOS and Android.

Often, attackers will use exploit methods to deploy Pagasus spyware to the devices of high-value targets such as government employees, activists, diplomats, academics, etc. dissidents and journalists worldwide.

For example, NSO's FORCEDENTRY exploit could be used by government-sponsored hacker groups to circumvent the protection of Apple devices. Then, the latest version of Pegasus will be installed to do the information gathering task.

Apple sues the maker of Pegasus spyware that specializes in stealing data on iPhones Picture 1

Apple vehemently condemns NSO's actions and wants the law enforcement agencies to have adequate sanctions. Apple also wants the court to order a permanent ban, preventing NSO Group from using any Apple products, services or software.

In addition, Apple says that it is sending notifications to all users who are being targeted by the FORCEDENTRY exploit. In addition, following industry best practices Apple will send warnings to people who may be targeted in the future.

Finally, Apple is willing to pay $ 10 million to organizations involved in research and advocacy to monitor the network and to settle any damages caused by this lawsuit.

Two years ago, Facebook also filed a lawsuit against NSO Group for creating and selling a method of exploiting WhatsApp's zero-day vulnerability. This exploit is used to infect the devices of high-value targets such as government officials, diplomats and journalists.

NSO Group created Pegasus with the purpose of legally providing governments with a tool to track and investigate crime and terrorism. However, later, many experts and organizations discovered that Pegasus was misused, abused to track users, violated human rights.

Despite receiving many criticisms, accusations and even punishments, NSO Group still did not stop. This Israeli company continuously launches zero-day exploits on multiple platforms to serve the distribution of Pegasus spyware. Not only that, NSO Group also carried out acts of harassing other Apple services such as iCloud.

Apple recommends that users update iOS to the latest version as soon as possible to avoid becoming a target of cybercriminals.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 24 November 2021