The Israeli tech firm failed to show up in court, after promising to defend itself against spying allegations
Its products can help hack the phone of a political activist, a journalist or even a prince.
The spying technology owned by the Israeli NSO Group is allegedly being used by authoritarian regimes and within that its changing traditional relationships – good and bad.
But its also increasingly helping governments to crackdown on whoever opposes them. NSO has faced a number of lawsuits, one of them by Whatsapp.
The messaging app seems to be getting close to winning that case, if only as a default ruling.
The spyware manufacturer failed to show up in court in the U.S. after it had said it would “vigorously fight” the allegations.
A default was entered on Monday in San Francisco after WhatsApp said that its efforts to give NSO Group notice of the law suit all went unanswered.
So what does this case tell us about digital privacy protection?
Presenter: Peter Dobbie
Guests
Raphael Satter, Cybersecurity Correspondent for Reuters.
Tanya O’Carroll, Director of Amnesty Tech.
James Shires, Professor at the University of Leiden who researches cybersecurity in the Middle East.
