For those who thought that WhatsApp was was unhackable, you were wrong -the platform is as vulnerable as every tech system.
WhatsApp was all along exposed to a vulnerability that was being exploited by attackers to remotely install surveillance malware(spyware)on a few smartphones by simply calling the targeted phone numbers over Whatsapp audio call.
Apparently, the vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-3568, could successfully be exploited to install the spyware and steal data from a targeted Android phone or iPhone by merely placing a WhatsApp call, even when the call is not answered.
The victim would not be able to find out about the hack afterward as the spyware erases the incoming call information from the WhatsApp log.
Though the exact number of targeted WhatsApp users is not yet known, WhatsApp engineers did confirm that only a “select number” of users were targeted by the spyware.
Who is affected by the spyware?
The vulnerability affected both WhatsApp users on iOS and Android, meaning the flaw affected all 1.5 billion people using WhatsApp until yesterday when Facebook finally patched the issue.
What to do now?
WhatsApp is advising users to merely upgrade their app as soon as possible so that they won’t be exposed to this spyware. Its just a matter of going to the playstore and hit “Update” to secure yourself from snoopers.
