Be very wary!
If you’re fond of the ‘ol group chat on WhatsApp then the app is warning that your chats may be at risk of being hacked.
The attack sees hackers being able to infiltrate your chats and send fake messages to your friends.
It was first noticed Check Point Research’s cyber-security team. According the website, the “vulnerability” allows for three possible attacks:
- Changing a reply from someone to put words into their mouth that they did not say.
- Quoting a message in a reply to a group conversation to make it appear as if it came from a person who is not even part of the group.
- Sending a message to a member of a group that pretends to be a group message but is in fact only sent to this member. However, the member’s response will be sent to the entire group.
Oded Vanunu, Check Point’s Head of Product Vulnerability Research said:
“Given WhatsApp’s prevalence among consumers, businesses, and government agencies, it’s no surprise that hackers see the application as a five-star opportunity for potential scams.
“As one of the main communication channels available today, WhatsApp is used for sensitive conversations ranging from confidential corporate and government information, to criminal intelligence that could be used in a court of law.”
