WhatsApp users may need to take extra steps to protect their account information following a potentially concerning discovery. A study by researchers at the University of Vienna revealed the app’s contact-discovery system enabled the collection of extensive WhatsApp user data at an unprecedented scale due to insufficient rate-limiting across global endpoints.
The researchers were able to gather huge amounts of phone numbers, public profile photos, account status text, business tags, and information tied to end-to-end encryption keys.
Read more…
Source: TechRadar News
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Nissan says Red Hat breach affected thousands of customers
December 23, 2025
Japanese car giant Nissan has confirmed losing sensitive data on thousands of people as a result of a third-party supply chain attack. In a press release, the company said the recent attack on Red Hat affected its customers, as well, as the latter was commissioned by Nissan to develop a customer management system for one of ...
- US insurance giant Aflac says hackers stole personal and health data of 22.6 million people
December 23, 2025
In June, U.S. insurance giant Aflac disclosed a data breach where hackers stole customers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers and health information, without saying how many victims were affected. On Tuesday, the company confirmed it has begun notifying around 22.65 million people whose data was stolen during the cyberattack. In a filing with the Texas ...
- Data breach exposes 400,000 bank customers’ information
December 20, 2025
A major data breach tied to U.S. fintech firm Marquis is rippling through banks, credit unions and their customers. Hackers broke into Marquis systems by exploiting a known but unpatched vulnerability in a SonicWall firewall, gaining access to deeply sensitive consumer data. At least 400,000 people are confirmed to be affected so far across multiple states. ...
- The EU prepares ground for wider data retention – and VPN providers are among the targets
December 18, 2025
EU governments are pushing to widen data retention obligations for apps that citizens use every day – and the best VPN apps are among those targeted. A new internal document dated November 27 (first published by Netzpolitik) provides important insights into the current thinking of the Danish Presidency of the EU Council. It shows that member ...
- Hacking group says it’s extorting Pornhub after stealing users’ viewing data
December 16, 2025
The hacking group Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, which includes members of a gang known as ShinyHunters, said it is attempting to extort porn site Pornhub, after claiming to have stolen personal information belonging to the website’s premium members. On Friday, Pornhub confirmed it was among several companies affected by an earlier breach at the widely used web ...
- LastPass 2022 Data Breach — 1.6 Million Users Exposed By Security Failure
December 14, 2025
Any data breach affecting 1.6 million people is big news, especially when it involves one of the most prominent password managers out there: LastPass. The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office has just fined LastPass £1.2 million ($1.6 million) for failing to “implement sufficiently robust technical and security measures, which ultimately enabled a hacker to gain unauthorised access ...