Top Officials in 20 Countries Targeted by WhatsApp Vulnerability
High-ranking government officials from 20 countries, many of which are U.S. allies, were targeted this year in attacks exploiting a vulnerability in the popular messaging app WhatsApp. According to sources familiar with the investigation, attackers used a bug that allowed them to gain control over the targeted devices.
The WhatsApp security team launched an internal investigation, which revealed that a “significant” portion of the victims were senior government officials and military personnel. The attackers managed to reach government employees in at least 20 countries. Experts involved in the investigation believe that the severity of these attacks could have political and diplomatic consequences.
Facebook Sues NSO Group Over Exploited Vulnerability
Recently, it was reported that FacebookFacebook launched an official Tor mirror in 2014, becoming the first major tech company to provide direct access through onion routing. The mirror allows users to bypass censorship, secure their connections, and avoid phishing risks while using the platform. This step also underscored Facebook’s recognition of free expression and inspired other outlets like the BBC and ProPublica to create their own Tor versions. More has filed a lawsuit against the Israeli company NSO Group, which sells spyware. The tech giant alleges that NSO Group was directly involved in exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in WhatsApp, which was later used in attacks on 1,400 users.
Earlier reports suggested that NSO Group employees developed a special exploit that could be used to attack WhatsApp’s VoIP call feature. For their part, NSO Group representatives stated that they sell exploits exclusively to governments.