WhatsApp Has Another Security Loophole; Here's How to Keep Yourself Safe

Facebook had recently issued a warning for its popular instant messaging app Whatsapp, when it discovered a new security threat that allowed hackers to access someone's data simply by sending them a malicious video file as a message. In fact, even the recent Pegasus scandal that affected journalists, politicians, and human rights activists in India, all it took was missed WhatsApp call to let the spyware snoop on victims. Now, with this new security loophole, victims will receive a malware-laden video file from an unknown number which will play like any other normal MP4 media file, but give the hacker access to the victim's phone in the background. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is advising citizens to update to the latest WhatsApp version immediately. “Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to cause Remote Code Execution (RCE) or Denial of Service (DoS) condition, which could lead to further compromise of the system," CERT-In said.

To ensure that you are safe on WhatsApp, CERT-In advises that users upgrade to the latest WhatsApp version immediately. Android users should upgrade to WhatsApp version 2.19.274 at least, while iPhone users must upgrade to version 2.19.100. To check which version of WhatsApp you are using on your iPhone, go to Settings > tap on ‘Help’ and you will get to see the version number on top. Similarly, Android users can go to Settings> tap on Help> go to ‘App info’ to check the same. The new vulnerability also affects “WhatsApp Enterprise Client prior to 2.25.3, WhatsApp for Windows Phone prior to 2.18.368, WhatsApp Business for Android prior to 2.19.104 and WhatsApp Business for iOS prior to 2.19.100," according to reports. If you are on WhatsApp, make sure you check which version of the app you are currently using, and upgrade to the latest version as soon as possible.