Apple sues NSO (spyware company)

Cmaier

Cmaier

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www.nytimes.com

Apple Sues Israeli Spyware Maker, Seeking to Block Its Access to iPhones (Published 2021)

Apple accused NSO Group, the Israeli surveillance company, of “flagrant” violations of its software, as well as federal and state laws.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Excerpt:

An opening for Apple’s lawsuit emerged in March, after NSO’s Pegasus spyware was discovered on the iPhone of a Saudi activist. Citizen Lab discovered that NSO’s Pegasus spyware had infected the iPhone without so much as a click. The spyware could invisibly infect iPhones, Mac computers and Apple Watches, then siphon their data back to government servers, without the target knowing about it.

Citizen Lab called the zero-click infection scheme “Forced Entry” and passed a sample of it to Apple in September. The discovery compelled Apple to issue emergency software updates for its iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Mac computers.

The sample of Pegasus gave Apple a forensic understanding of how Pegasus worked. The company found that NSO’s engineers had created more than 100 fake Apple IDs to carry out their attacks. In the process of creating those accounts, NSO’s engineers would have had to agree to Apple’s iCloud Terms and Conditions, which expressly require that iCloud users’ engagement with Apple “be governed by the laws of the state of California.”

The clause helped Apple bring its lawsuit against NSO in the Northern District of California.
Click to expand...

Apple’s announcement:

www.apple.com

Apple sues NSO Group to curb the abuse of state-sponsored spyware

Apple today filed a lawsuit against NSO Group to hold it accountable for abusive surveillance and the targeting of a small number of Apple users.
www.apple.com

From the court Complaint:

1637691927585.png
 
This feels like going after Al Capone for tax evasion. Put as much heat on the defendant as possible, combine it was being sacntioned by the U.S. government, then try to bankrupt them with Apple's endless resources. Eventually, something will stick, at least in theory.
 
Cmaier said:
www.nytimes.com

Apple Sues Israeli Spyware Maker, Seeking to Block Its Access to iPhones (Published 2021)

Apple accused NSO Group, the Israeli surveillance company, of “flagrant” violations of its software, as well as federal and state laws.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Excerpt:



Apple’s announcement:

www.apple.com

Apple sues NSO Group to curb the abuse of state-sponsored spyware

Apple today filed a lawsuit against NSO Group to hold it accountable for abusive surveillance and the targeting of a small number of Apple users.
www.apple.com

From the court Complaint:

View attachment 9971
Click to expand...
Speculation but I'm fairly certain that Erdogan knew the details about Khashooggi's because his Apple Watch was hacked, probably with Pegasus.
 
KingOfPain said:
What's your opinion as a lawyer, Cliff? Does this lawsuit have a chance for a positive outcome?
Click to expand...
I don’t give legal opinions on the internet

:)


The lawyers involved are solid. If the facts in the complaint are accurate, then at least the contract claims seem pretty clear. There may be questions about apple’s standing to sue on some claims, and there are likely questions about whether apple is the damaged party and how much it deserves in compensation for some claims.

Let’s see how NSO responds in its Answer to the Complaint.
 
Cmaier said:
I don’t give legal opinions on the internet
Click to expand...
Spoken like a true lawyer. However, I'm perfectly fine with that. The semiconductor industry's loss is our gain. If you hadn't changed professions then you wouldn't be sharing your insights with us. It's not every day we get access to an former Opteron engineer.

Also, I admit that it's a guilty pleasure of mine, mainly over at the "other place", when someone decides to school you on CPUs, resulting in a predictable lesson in humility. It's usually a PC fan who just built a muscle gaming desktop, and decided that they have to share their wisdom with us Mac plebeians.
 
Colstan said:
Spoken like a true lawyer. However, I'm perfectly fine with that. The semiconductor industry's loss is our gain. If you hadn't changed professions then you wouldn't be sharing your insights with us. It's not every day we get access to an former Opteron engineer.

Also, I admit that it's a guilty pleasure of mine, mainly over at the "other place", when someone decides to school you on CPUs, resulting in a predictable lesson in humility. It's usually a PC fan who just built a muscle gaming desktop, and decided that they have to share their wisdom with us Mac plebeians.
Click to expand...

LOL. Yeah, it's ...interesting... over there.

I may go back into semiconductors at some point. Some friends and I throwing around some ideas.
 
KingOfPain said:
I should have guessed. Thanks for the non-opinionated answer.


Someone on Youtube calles himself "the lock-picking lawyer". Maybe you would become "the semiconducting lawyer" ;)
Click to expand...

That guy is pretty good.
 
Cmaier said:
LOL. Yeah, it's ...interesting... over there.

I may go back into semiconductors at some point. Some friends and I throwing around some ideas.
Click to expand...

How did that work? Left semiconductors and went to law school or something?
 
thekev said:
How did that work? Left semiconductors and went to law school or something?
Click to expand...
Yeah, but not in that order. Went to law school at night while working in semiconductors.
 
thekev said:
That sounds rough. Now I'm curious what motivated the switch.
Click to expand...

Random impulse. I thought I could go for free because my fiancé worked at the school. She quit when we got married, but I ended up going for free on a merit scholarship anyway. I didn’t give the whole thing a lot of thought.
 

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