Israeli Spyware Firm Allegedly Tried to Hack 1,400 WhatsApp Users

From PC Mag: An Israeli company that sells spyware to governments recently tried to hack into 1,400 users' devices by exploiting a vulnerability in WhatsApp, according to a new lawsuit from the messaging app.

WhatsApp is suing the company, NSO Group, for a barrage of high-profile attacks that occurred in May involving a scary (but now patched) vulnerability in the iOS and Android versions of the messaging app. The flaw was so bad it let an attacker send spyware to a WhatsApp-enabled phone simply by using a voice call to the victim. No pickup of the call was required.

At the time, the Facebook-owned messaging app refrained from calling out NSO Group. But on Tuesday, WhatsApp filed a lawsuit in US district court and published an op-ed in The Washington Post blaming the Israeli surveillance company for its spying attempts.

"We learned that the attackers used servers and internet-hosting services that were previously associated with NSO. In addition, as our complaint notes, we have tied certain WhatsApp accounts used during the attacks back to NSO," the messaging service's head Will Cathcart wrote in the op-ed.

View: Article @ Source Site