When asked about the number of users affected by the attack, a spokesperson from WhatsApp said, “A number in the dozens would not be inaccurate.” Although the exact number of victims is not known yet, some of the targets could potentially be high-profile users who deal with sensitive information. This is not the first time a human-rights organization has been the victim of an attack. According to Facebook, all smartphones running on various operating systems including Android, iOS, Windows, or Tizen OS can be victimized by the malware.Īs per the Financial Times, the bug was released in an attempt to gain access to the data on the phone of a UK-based human rights lawyer. Unlike most other cyberattacks, Pegasus has nothing to do with the user’s security or the device’s security. Moreover, according to the report from Financial Times, the infected call does not even get stored in the call logs. The devices will be affected irrespective of whether the user answers the call or not. The spyware is also capable of accessing the device’s microphone and camera to capture new information or perform other malicious activities.Īttackers installed the Pegasus spyware in the users’ devices through an infected WhatsApp call. Once affected, the spyware can access the user’s data such as calls, texts, and other sensitive information on the device. A zero-day vulnerability is one in which an attacker exploits a security hole before the company patches it. This is one of the largest zero-day bugs in recent times. The spyware is said to affect both WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business accounts.

According to a report from the Financial Times, WhatsApp can be exploited by the spyware, which was developed by an Israel-based cyber-intelligence company called NSO. This Facebook-owned app, which uses end-to-end encryption and was considered to be secure until now, has been breached by a spyware known as Pegasus. WhatsApp is the world’s largest and most widely used messaging application. It doesn't matter if you avoid clicking fraudulent links, avoid visiting insecure sites, avoid downloading suspicious applications, and follow all other security measures - you are vulnerable. If you are one of the 1.5 billion users of popular messaging app WhatsApp, be aware that a newly discovered vulnerability could leave you open to a vicious spyware attack.

Whatsapp spy software