Are German users affected?

WhatsApp hack: The Federal Ministry should now examine this, as the “Handelsblatt” reports. Investigations into this have already been initiated. However, it is not yet clear which people are among the victims, so their nationality cannot yet be determined, according to Interior State Secretary Hans-Georg Engelke.

“Pegasus” malware from NSO

The Israeli company NSO uses spy technology to sell data to secret services and security agencies. The company itself claims to use this software to thwart serious crimes such as terrorist attacks.

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In April and May, around 1,400 smartphones were monitored by malware from NSO via WhatsApp within just two weeks.
In this hack attack, data was collected from the devices and passed on to the company's customers. The users themselves didn't notice anything. The program, called “Pegasus,” was installed on smartphones with Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Tizen operating systems. Those affected received a call that didn't even have to be accepted in order to establish a connection to NSO. This misuse is seen as abuse that should be prosecuted.

Criticism from Green Party politician

Katrin Göring-Eckardt strongly criticizes the Federal Ministry.

“It is negligent that the federal government is apparently taking the espionage attack on WhatsApp communication lightly,” said the Green politician to the “Handelsblatt”. “The WhatsApp hack shows how necessary it is to secure digital communication in addition to the security-relevant digital infrastructure.”

She also criticizes the government's approach to 5G expansion because there is still a lack of "clear" security standards. Germany has some catching up to do here.

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Facebook filed a lawsuit against NSO

The security hole that made this hack possible was closed by Facebook in mid-May. Facebook filed a lawsuit against NSO. The reason for the lawsuit is a violation of WhatsApp's terms of use. The lawsuit also states that those affected by the attack were mainly journalists, lawyers, dissidents, diplomats, human rights activists and government officials from countries such as Bahrain, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.

Source: Businessinsider
Article image: Shutterstock / By Viktor Gladkov


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