Spyware scandal: Scary proof WhatsApp can give your secrets away – FT

EDINBURGH — Nine in every 10 South Africans are active users of WhatsApp. That might change soon as the news that WhatsApp is not a secure social media platform sinks in. A fascinating Financial Times of London report provides a glimpse into how devious groups linked to oppressive governments and criminals can exploit vulnerabilities to access information on smartphones – used by many as a mini-computer for banking and other dealings. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which has been lurching from one data privacy crisis to the next. – Jackie Cameron

By Thulasizwe Sithole

A vulnerability in the messaging app WhatsApp has allowed attackers to inject commercial Israeli spyware on to phones, reports the Financial Times. The company and a spyware technology dealer have confirmed the discovery.

WhatsApp, which is used by 1.5bn people worldwide, discovered in early May that attackers were able to install surveillance software on to both iPhones and Android phones by ringing up targets using the app's phone call function, reports the pink paper.

"The malicious code, developed by the secretive Israeli company NSO Group, could be transmitted even if users did not answer their phones, and the calls often disappeared from call logs, said the spyware dealer, who was recently briefed on the WhatsApp hack.

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