WhatsApp has alerted around 200 users who were tricked into installing a malicious version of the instant messaging app. The platform said that the fake version contained spyware and was created by Italian spyware maker SIO for iPhones. In a statement to TechCrunch, WhatsApp said its security team identified around 200 users, primarily from Italy, who downloaded the malicious app. The company has already logged them out and alerted them.
“Our security team proactively identified around 200 users primarily in Italy who we believe may have downloaded this malicious unofficial client,” WhatsApp said in its statement. “We have logged them out, alerted [them] to the risks to their privacy and security that come with downloading fake unofficial clients, and encouraged them to remove it and download the official WhatsApp app.”
WhatsApp has not revealed who the targeted users were but said it has sent a legal demand to the spyware firm to stop its malicious activity. However, this is not the first time that SIO has created malicious apps.
TechCrunch reported last year that SIO was behind numerous malicious Android apps that contained its spyware, including fake WhatsApp apps and fake customer support tools for cellphone providers.
SIO reportedly develops government spyware through its subsidiary ASIGINT. Its spyware was identified with the name Spyrtacus, a word that appeared in the spyware’s code.
WhatsApp users previously targeted with spyware
This is not the first time WhatsApp has found its users being targeted by spyware. Last year, the platform alerted around 90 users that they had been targeted with spyware made by the U.S.-Israeli surveillance tech maker Paragon Solutions.
WhatsApp sent those notifications to journalists and pro-immigration activists, among others.
WhatsApp offers strict security settings
Meanwhile, for those who believe they may be targeted by sophisticated cyber-attacks, WhatsApp offers strict account settings for message and media, account security, profile, and groups.
This is an advanced optional security feature that applies WhatsApp’s strictest privacy and security controls to help reduce users’ vulnerability to cyber-attacks. It locks the account to more private settings, and chats with people outside a user’s contacts have limitations.
The feature is designed for users who may face elevated risks and should only be enabled if they believe they might be targeted.
