We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!
Export Podcast Subscriptions
cover of episode How WhatsApp Got Hacked

How WhatsApp Got Hacked

2019/11/15
logo of podcast What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

Shownotes Transcript

Recently, Facebook filed a lawsuit against a little-known Israeli spyware firm called NSO Group. Facebook is accusing NSO of supplying technology that enabled a hack of 1,400 WhatsApp accounts. 

 

But NSO’s reach goes far beyond a few thousand phones. Governments around the world purchase its powerful technology. Some use it to “lawfully hack” the devices of criminals and terrorists. But others use it more broadly, tracking the communications of activists, journalists, lawyers, and dissidents.

 

What does the WhatsApp lawsuit mean for the spyware industry? And why are governments lining up to buy these products?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices)