WhatsApp Bug Allowed Hackers to Hijack Accounts

WhatsApp Bug Allowed Hackers to Hijack Accounts

Facebook's WhatsApp says it has fixed a video call security bug that let hackers hijack accounts.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Oct 12, 2018

Facebook's WhatsApp service announced on Wednesday that it has fixed the latest bug on its platform that allowed hackers to take over users' applications when they answered an incoming video call. 

The bug was originally reported by technology websites like ZDnet and The Register. The articles suggest the bug was discovered in late August and was fixed by Facebook in early October. 

"We routinely engage with security researchers from around the world to ensure WhatsApp remains safe and reliable. We promptly issued a fix to the latest version of WhatsApp to resolve this issue," Ann Yeh, spokeswoman for WhatsApp, told Reuters in an email. 

The bug comes as Facebook suffers a string of security-related problems in the last year. The social media platform disclosed its worst-ever security breach affecting nearly 50 million accounts just last week.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening. 3

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3