Meta Blocks NSO Group's New WhatsApp Phishing Attack, Files Contempt Order

Summary: Meta said it detected and blocked spear-phishing attempts linked to NSO Group, which tried to trick people into clicking malicious links that led to external websites outside WhatsApp, and it is filing a federal court contempt order against NSO for violating a permanent injunction barring it from targeting WhatsApp and its users. Meta also said it caught NSO Group creating test accounts and groups on WhatsApp, which have since been taken down, and it did not disclose when the activity occurred, how many users were targeted, whether any attacks succeeded, or how the activity was tied to NSO.
What you should know: NSO Group was already fined roughly $168 million after a U.S. court found it violated U.S. laws by exploiting WhatsApp servers to deploy Pegasus against over 1,400 individuals globally, and it was added to a U.S. Commerce Department blocklist in 2021 - yet Meta says it is still catching the vendor running phishing campaigns and building test accounts on the platform.

Read the original at The Hacker News ↗