Apple asks court to dismiss lawsuit against NSO group

Apple has requested from the court that its lawsuit against the Israeli NSO Group, which was filed in November 2021, be dropped, according to the Washington Post last week. 

The technology company argued that exposing its discoveries could help NSO. 

Apple also stated it may not be able to get the documents it needs regarding Pegasus, the spyware developed by NSO.   

According to the Washington Post, the filing cited a July Guardian report which claimed that in a "legal maneuver," Israeli officials had taken documents from NSO regarding Pegasus.

The move was allegedly achieved to stop the company from ceding information to a US court, as per a request made by WhatsApp. 

“While Apple takes no position on the truth or falsity of the Guardian Story described above, its existence presents cause for concern about the potential for Apple to obtain the discovery it needs,” Apple was cited in the report as stating in its filing. 

Apple's 2021 lawsuit

In 2021, Apple announced it had filed a lawsuit against the Israeli NSO Group and its parent company for the alleged surveillance and targeting of Apple users.

The company also sought a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using any Apple products or services in the suit filed to the US District Court in the San Jose Division of the Northern District of California.

According to Apple, Pegasus was used against a number of Apple users across the world to attack them with dangerous malware and spyware.