Reuters
- A major security flaw in $4, a Facebook-owned messaging app used around the world, affects all 1.5 billion-plus users $4.
- The hack is reportedly $4 - even if you don't pick up the call. A record of the call can even be remotely erased, the report says.
- The WhatsApp exploit enables the sophisticated spyware "Pegasus" to be installed, a notoriously invasive software tool created by$4, a secretive firm from Israel that reportedly bills itself as a leader in cyber warfare.=.
- $4
A security flaw in the massively popular WhatsApp messaging platform exposes its 1.5 billion-plus users to one of the world's most malicious spyware programs, "Pegasus."
The spy software enables remote access to your phone's most private information - from text messages to call logs to location data.
Pegasus first surfaced in 2016 when it was reportedly used to spy on a human rights activist in the United Arab Emirates. In the years since, it's been linked to the death of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the Mexican government's capture of alleged drug trafficker Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
The company that makes Pegasus, the NSO Group, is notoriously secretive.
The Israeli firm sells sophisticated hacking tools to governments, militaries, and intelligence agencies - and it tries to keep such a low profile it even $4 on a regular basis.
Here's everything we know about the secretive firm behind one of the world's most effective spyware applications: