Only by making a missed or missed call, hackers can access WhatsApp and the user’s cell phone with spyware to steal the desired data. Reported by RTHK, a new spyware has been detected on WhatsApp that allows the application to run malicious code that pollutes encrypted chat, eavesdrops on calls. Turns on the microphone and camera. Accesses photos, contacts, and other information on handheld devices, and has the potential to further ham1 the device.
The call log can also be changed to hide the infection method. Users will not even be aware as long as the phone is turned on. What the hacker needs to do is manipulate the data packets sent carefully during the process of the victim’s voice call; when these packages are received by the target smartphone, the internal buffer in WhatsApp will overflow. Overwrite other parts of the application’s memory and lead to surveillance that commands the chat application.
Reported by the Financial Times. WhatsApp said the vulnerability in the application allows mobile phones infected with sophisticated spyware with calls in applications that have been missed. Recurring calls – even if not answered – via WhatsApp allow hackers to install spyware on iPhone and Android devices.
The call log can then disappear removing all traces of fraud. A spokesman from the Facebook Company said recently that “sophisticated cyber actors” had infected many users with malware in early May 2019.
Meanwhile, Technicians from WhatsApp are currently working to fix this problem. WhatsApp has a total of 1.5 billion active users worldwide in more than 180 countries.
For the moment there is nothing a WhatsApp user can do to avoid spyware other than deleting the WhatsApp application from their cellphone.
