Microsoft and Google defend Facebook and WhatsApp: what’s going on in the U.S.

Facebook and WhatsApp find support from Microsoft, Google and other tech bigwigs in legal case against NSO Group

Microsoft, Google and other tech bigwigs have virtually taken to the streets to support Facebook in its legal case against NSO Group. The Israeli company, which specializes in the development of hack tools for foreign government agencies, was allegedly sued two years ago following the creation of a malicious tool for WhatsApp.

For Facebook, the clash with NSO Group opened in the US during October 2019, following the creation of an exploit tool, which is a script made with the purpose of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities or bugs in an application to penetrate inside the program and change its behaviors, acquiring administrative powers and thus accessing normally protected data. Behaving in all respects as a virus, it is clear that such a code has all the characteristics to become, if not used for lawful purposes, a real threat to the users of the application.

Facebook vs. NSO Group, what happened to WhatsApp

The virus developed by NSO Group would have been sold, as usual for the Israeli company, to unspecified governmental bodies, without any information about possible purposes or aims of the tool. After further investigations, however, serious violations against the users of the messaging system acquired by Facebook emerged, promptly denounced by the social network giant.

The tool, in fact, would have allowed the installation of malware on the smartphones of more than 1400 unsuspecting WhatsApp users. Among them, appear personalities with important global positions, such as diplomats, senior foreign government officials, political dissidents, human rights activists, journalists and lawyers. In its defense, NSO Group would have cited its extraneousness to the fact, limiting itself to the realization of the software and not to its actual use.

Facebook vs. NSO Group, who is on the side of the social network

Also Microsoft and Google along with other prominent names have joined in support of Facebook in the legal battle against NSO Group. Among them Cisco and VMWare, who have signed the document in support of the proceedings against one of the exponents of the group defined as "cyber mercenaries", who act from the legal point of view in that gray area lacking specific and effective regulation to protect companies and users themselves.

The signatories were later joined by other important names in the IT and network industries, such as GitHub and LinkedIn, also from Microsoft, and the Internet Association, the lobby that brings together and represents numerous tech companies such as Amazon, PayPal, Twitter and Reddit, just to name a few.

Facebook vs. NSO Group, no law, no punishment

A comment also came from Tom Burt, Microsoft's Vice President for Customer Security, who pointed out that such behavior could set a serious precedent in the tech world. Companies like NSO Group, Burt reminded, could take advantage of such legislative loopholes to engage in misconduct while going unpunished.

"A growing sector of companies called private sector offensive actors - or PSOAs - are creating and selling cyber weapons," Burt commented, "that enable their customers to break into people's computers, phones and Internet-connected devices. Now, one of these 21st century mercenaries, called the NSO Group, is trying to hide in the legal immunity granted to its government customers, which would protect it from liability when its weapons inflict harm on innocent people and businesses. [...] We believe that the NSO Group's business model is dangerous and that such immunity would allow it and other PSOAs to continue their dangerous activities without legal rules, liability or repercussions."