WASHINGTON DC, Oct. 30 -- Social media communication application WhatsApp has filed a lawsuit against Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group, alleging the firm was behind cyber attacks that infected devices with malicious software.

WhatsApp accuses the company of sending malware to roughly 1,400 mobile phones for surveillance. Users affected included journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents, and diplomats.

NSO Group disputed the allegations.

In a court filing, WhatsApp said NSO Group developed their malware to access messages and other communications after they were decrypted on target devices.

It said NSO Group created various WhatsApp accounts and caused the malicious code to be transmitted over the WhatsApp servers i...