WhatsApp users are being urged to update to the latest version of the app due to fears that spy agencies are snooping on people through a major security vulnerability.
The issue relates to a malicious video that allows hackers to access people’s messages simply by sharing the MP4 file across WhatsApp. The Facebook-owned messaging app fixed the bug earlier this week – but anyone who has not downloaded the latest update remains vulnerable to the hack.
India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) posted an advisory outlining the “high” severity of the threat, warning that it “could be exploited by a remote attacker” at any time.
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The security agency issued the advisory after the Indian government said it is empowered to “intercept, monitor or decrypt... any information generated, transmitted, received, or stored” on the phones or devices of its citizens.
On Tuesday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kishan Reddy cited the Information Technology Act of 2000 when justifying the state’s surveillance policy.
12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed
Show all 12
12 useful WhatsApp features you didn’t know existed
1/12 Unsend messages
You can unsend a message by tapping and holding it, hitting the Delete symbol and selecting Delete for Everyone. The feature works for all types of messages, but only if they were sent less than seven minutes ago.
2/12 Dodge the blue ticks
WhatsApp’s blue ticks show when sent messages have been read, but you can disable them buy going to Settings > Account > Privacy > Read Receipts. However, bear in mind that, by doing so, you’ll lose the ability to see when your own sent messages have been read.
Another, more fiddly way of reading your messages without triggering the blue ticks, is enabling Aeroplane Mode before opening your messages - just remember to close the app before switching Aeroplane Mode off again.
3/12 Hide your 'last seen' time
Prevent your friends from finding out when you were last online by hiding your last seen time. Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen. As is the case with disabling read receipts, hiding your ‘last seen’ time will also stop you from seeing anybody else’s.
4/12 Limit data usage
You can control how much data you munch through on WhatsApp by limiting the types of media you automatically download on a mobile connection. Go to Settings > Data Usage and choose the best option for you.
5/12 Customise notifications
If you’re expecting an important WhatsApp message from someone, set a custom notification for them by opening the chat, tapping their name at the top and hitting Custom Notifications.
6/12 Format your messages
To jazz up any of your messages, simply highlight it by tapping and holding it, hit the More Options key on the pop-up menu and tap the formatting option you want - bold, italic, strikethrough or monospace.
7/12 Type hands-free
You can get Siri or Google Assistant to type your WhatsApp messages out for you by saying either “Hey Siri” or “Okay Google”, followed by the name of the person you want to message and the actual contents of the message.
8/12 Mark chats as unread
When you’ve read a message but can’t reply to it straight away, you can set a visual reminder by marking it as unread. On Android, long-press the conversation, and on iOS, swipe from left to right on a chat.
9/12 Email entire conversations
You almost certainly won’t do this on a regular basis, but it’s a handy option to have. You can export entire conversations - complete with emoji and media attachments - by hitting More inside a chat a selecting Email Chat.
10/12 Mass-message contacts
You can send the same message to lots of your contacts without lumping them all into one group, much like the BCC option on email, by hitting the New Broadcast option on the app’s main menu.
11/12 Pin conversations
You pin up to three contacts and groups to the top of your WhatsApp conversation list by tapping and holding a chat, then hitting the pin icon.
12/12 Make things easier to find
You can easily mark key messages with a star, allowing you to find them easily when you need to. Just tap and hold a message and hit the star icon to save it, and return to it later by selecting Starred Messages in WhatsApp’s main menu.
1/12 Unsend messages
You can unsend a message by tapping and holding it, hitting the Delete symbol and selecting Delete for Everyone. The feature works for all types of messages, but only if they were sent less than seven minutes ago.
2/12 Dodge the blue ticks
WhatsApp’s blue ticks show when sent messages have been read, but you can disable them buy going to Settings > Account > Privacy > Read Receipts. However, bear in mind that, by doing so, you’ll lose the ability to see when your own sent messages have been read.
Another, more fiddly way of reading your messages without triggering the blue ticks, is enabling Aeroplane Mode before opening your messages - just remember to close the app before switching Aeroplane Mode off again.
3/12 Hide your 'last seen' time
Prevent your friends from finding out when you were last online by hiding your last seen time. Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen. As is the case with disabling read receipts, hiding your ‘last seen’ time will also stop you from seeing anybody else’s.
4/12 Limit data usage
You can control how much data you munch through on WhatsApp by limiting the types of media you automatically download on a mobile connection. Go to Settings > Data Usage and choose the best option for you.
5/12 Customise notifications
If you’re expecting an important WhatsApp message from someone, set a custom notification for them by opening the chat, tapping their name at the top and hitting Custom Notifications.
6/12 Format your messages
To jazz up any of your messages, simply highlight it by tapping and holding it, hit the More Options key on the pop-up menu and tap the formatting option you want - bold, italic, strikethrough or monospace.
7/12 Type hands-free
You can get Siri or Google Assistant to type your WhatsApp messages out for you by saying either “Hey Siri” or “Okay Google”, followed by the name of the person you want to message and the actual contents of the message.
8/12 Mark chats as unread
When you’ve read a message but can’t reply to it straight away, you can set a visual reminder by marking it as unread. On Android, long-press the conversation, and on iOS, swipe from left to right on a chat.
9/12 Email entire conversations
You almost certainly won’t do this on a regular basis, but it’s a handy option to have. You can export entire conversations - complete with emoji and media attachments - by hitting More inside a chat a selecting Email Chat.
10/12 Mass-message contacts
You can send the same message to lots of your contacts without lumping them all into one group, much like the BCC option on email, by hitting the New Broadcast option on the app’s main menu.
11/12 Pin conversations
You pin up to three contacts and groups to the top of your WhatsApp conversation list by tapping and holding a chat, then hitting the pin icon.
12/12 Make things easier to find
You can easily mark key messages with a star, allowing you to find them easily when you need to. Just tap and hold a message and hit the star icon to save it, and return to it later by selecting Starred Messages in WhatsApp’s main menu.
Earlier this month, 19 activists, journalists and politicians in India revealed that their WhatsApp accounts had been targeted. They were among 1,400 people around the world to receive a message warning that their digital communications may have been compromised.
“In May we stopped an attack where an advanced cyber actor exploited our video calling to install malware on user devices,” the message stated. “There’s a possibility this phone number was impacted, and we want to make sure you know how to keep your mobile phone secure.”
WhatsApp claims that this warning was not related to the recent discovery of the malicious video file and claimed that there is no evidence that this particular flaw has been exploited by hackers.
The messaging app says that these users were instead targeted with spyware developed by controversial Israeli technology firm NSO Group.
“WhatsApp is constantly working to improve the security of our service,” a spokesperson told The Independent.
“We make public reports on potential issues we have fixed consistent with industry best practices. In this instance, there is no reason to believe that users were impacted.”
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