WhatsApp, che fa parte del gruppo Facebook, ha reso noto di avere scoperto una falla nel suo sistema che permette agli hacker di installare programmi-spia (spyware) sul telefonino per raccogliere le informazioni e i dati degli utenti e/o per trasformarlo in un apparato di sorveglianza, all'insaputa del proprietario. E il tutto attraverso una semplice telefonata. Non c'è nulla, quindi che l'utilizzatore possa fare per proteggersi. Lunedì agli utenti (1,5 miliardi nel mondo) è stato distribuito un aggiornamento dell'applicazione per chiudere la falla.
Lo spyware, che ha infettato un numero ancora imprecisato di smartphone, secondo il Financial Times, assomiglia a Pegagus, realizzato dalla società informatica israeliana NSO Group per agenzie governative e di intelligence. È in grado di attivare fotocamere e microfoni del dispositivo bersaglio, semplicemente facendo squillare l'apparecchio. È inoltre capace di consultare l’archivio di e-mail e messaggi.
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