WhatsApp security flaw lets experts scrape 3.5 billion user numbers


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:

  • A fake WatchGuard VPN site is stealing your passwords

    October 18, 2026

    A fraudulent WatchGuard download website stole VPN login details while supplying the authentic installation package, experts have claimed. Security investigators at Huntress traced the activity to a lookalike domain that collected connection details before downloading the legitimate client. The investigation began after suspicious activity involving an administrator working for a managed service provider was detected. Read more… Source:  TechRadar ...

  • Eiliko robot companion exposes private chats and can be hijacked

    October 16, 2026

    The Verge reports that Eiliko, a small AI robot companion made by Energize Lab, has serious security flaws that expose private conversations and let an attacker remotely change what the toy says. According to The Verge, researcher Sammy Azdoufal could access 13 million conversations and what appeared to be the entire active worldwide fleet of 68,000 ...

  • Governments are hacking people with ‘zero-click’ spyware by showing them online ads

    October 15, 2026

    Security researchers at digital rights unit The Citizen Lab say government spyware makers are abusing global advertising networks to target and hack devices by serving malicious online adverts. A new report published Thursday by the University of Toronto lab, which investigates surveillance and digital rights abuses, said an Israeli company called Discover-Tech allows spyware makers to ...

  • FBI arrests OpenAI employee accused of planting hidden recording device in conference room

    October 13, 2026

    OpenAI said it has alerted the FBI after discovering that an employee allegedly planted a hidden recording device in one of the AI maker’s office executive conference rooms. The employee, named by federal prosecutors as Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, was fired and arrested on October 9, about a week after OpenAI discovered the surveillance device. The company ...

  • Hobbs and Whistles owner investigates hack that may have exposed customer data

    October 13, 2026

    The owner of Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles has said its websites and IT systems have been hit by a cyber-attack that may have compromised customers’ personal data. The South-African listed TFG London said it identified the “cybersecurity incident” at the three UK-based retail chains on Sunday. Its two other UK brands, Inside Story and White ...

  • ‘123456’ password used in massive Danish CPR data breach

    October 10, 2026

    At least three accounts at the company linked to a major breach of Denmark’s CPR register reportedly used the password “123456”, including an administrator account. At least three user accounts at the Funen-based IT company Pays used the password “123456” when hackers gained access to Denmark’s CPR register, Politiken reports. One of them was the company’s administrator ...