WhatsApp flaw allows Israeli hackers to hijack phones
Spyware crafted by a sophisticated group of hackers for hire took advantage of a flaw in the popular WhatsApp communications program to remotely hijack dozens of phones without any user interaction.
The Financial Times identified the hacking group as Israel’s NSO Group, which has been widely condemned for selling surveillance tools to repressive governments.
WhatsApp all but confirmed the identification, describing the hackers as “a private company that has been known to work with governments to deliver spyware.”
A spokesman for the Facebook subsidiary later said: “We’re certainly not refuting any of the coverage you’ve seen.”
WhatsApp has released a new version of the app containing a fix.
The spyware did not directly affect the end-to-end encryption that makes WhatsApp chats and calls private. It merely used a bug in the WhatsApp software as an infection vehicle. The malware allows spies to effectively take control of a phone — remotely and surreptitiously controlling its cameras and microphones and vacuuming up personal and location data. Encryption is worthless once a phone’s operating system has been violated.
Hackers are always looking for flaws in apps and operating systems that they can exploit to deliver spyware. State-run intelligence agencies including the U.S. National Security Agency invest tens of millions of dollars on it. Indeed, Google’s ProjectZero bughunting team scoured WhatsApp last year looking for vulnerabilities but did not find any. Instead, it was WhatsApp’s security team that found the flaw.
The development comes as Facebook looks to triple down on its messaging services by merging WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct and bringing WhatsApp-level encryption to the others. The attack would not affect Facebook’s ability to do that.
The malware was able to penetrate phones through missed calls alone using the app’s voice calling function, said the WhatsApp spokesman, who was not authorized to be quoted by name. He said an unknown number of people — an amount in the dozens at least would not be inaccurate — were infected with the malware, which the company discovered in early May, the spokesman said.
John Scott-Railton, a researcher with the internet watchdog Citizen Lab, called the hack “a very scary vulnerability.”
“There’s nothing a user could have done here, short of not having the app,” he said. The vast majority of hacks involve some sort of user interaction, such as clicking on an infected link.
The WhatsApp spokesman said its flaw was discovered while “our team was putting some additional security enhancements to our voice calls.” He said engineers found that people targeted for infection “might get one or two calls from a number that is not familiar to them. In the process of calling, this code gets shipped.”