A California judge has ordered Israeli spyware maker NSO Group to turn over the Pegasus source code to Meta’s WhatApp. The ruling is part of a lawsuit WhatsApp filed against NSO in October 2019, claiming that NSO’s surveillance malware infected the phones of around 1400 WhatsApp users, including journalists and human rights activists.

Judge Phyllis Hamilton has ruled that NSO Group must disclose to WhatsApp “all relevant spyware” for a period of one year before and after the two weeks in which WhatsApp users were allegedly hacked. The spyware maker was also ordered to provide WhatsApp information “concerning the full functionality of the relevant spyware”.

However, the judge ruled that NSO doesn’t have to disclose the names of its clients or information regarding its server architecture.

The Israel-based firm faced a lot of criticism after it came to light that NSO’s hacking software was abused by some governments to spy on activists, politicians and journalists. The company repeatedly denied allegations, insisting that Pegasus is only intended for use against criminals and terrorists.

In 2021, NSO Group was placed on a US blacklist by the Biden administration after it determined the spyware maker acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US.” In addition, American tech giant Apple launched a lawsuit against NSO Group “to hold it accountable” for illegally targeting Apple users with its powerful Pegasus spyware, which is able to run even on the most secure and up-to-date iOS devices.

Later, the company admitted that its spyware was used by at least five European countries without disclosing any details.