Heena Sharma Blog

WhatsApp has told the government it could have worked better with authorities regarding the use of Israeli spyware, Pegasus, allegedly used to snoop on Indian citizens. The spyware had exploited vulnerability in the messaging application’s code. In a communication to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), WhatsApp assured the government it would engage more to address issues that impact Indian citizens’ privacy, said sources. A WhatsApp spokesperson said the messaging service was committed to protecting the privacy of its over 400 million users in India. “ The government also plays a critical role here and we are committed to continuing to engage with it in a timely manner on sensitive issues related to user privacy and security. We regret that we have not met the government’s expectations on proactive engagement on these issues and will strive to do better,” the spokesperson added. According to an official at the MeitY, there could be a delay in ...

Senior government officials in multiple US-allied countries were targeted earlier this year with hacking software that used Facebook-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp to take over users' phones, according to people familiar with the messaging company's investigation. Sources familiar with WhatsApp’s internal investigation into the breach said a “significant” portion of the known victims were high-profile government and military officials spread across at least 20 countries in five continents. The hacking of a wider group of top government officials' smartphones than previously reported suggests the WhatsApp cyber intrusion could have broad political and diplomatic consequences. WhatsApp filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Israeli hacking tool developer NSO Group. The Facebook-owned software giant alleges that NSO Group built and sold a hacking platform that exploited a flaw in WhatsApp-owned servers to help clients hack into the cellphones of at least 1,400 us...