Even though WhatsApp claims to use encryption for secure communications, the platform has experienced a security breach. Such attacks on widely used software have the potential to impact vast numbers of users, and while this specific vulnerability has been addressed, it highlights the possibility that everyday software might not be as secure as users believe.

Nabil Hannan, a Managing Principal specializing in Financial Services at Synopsys’ Software Integrity Group, explained that this incident poses a risk because, theoretically, any WhatsApp user could be targeted using their phone number. Attackers exploiting the buffer overflow issue could introduce malware, granting them access to communications on the targeted device.

Hannan emphasized that every single WhatsApp user is potentially vulnerable, whether targeted intentionally or not. While this attack seemed to focus on specific individuals, other malicious actors aware of the vulnerability could exploit it to target specific users or even a broad user base.

Carl Leonard, Forcepoint’s Principle Security Analyst, acknowledged that although a software update has been released to address the exploited security flaw, the malware itself demonstrates a high level of sophistication. Attacks of this nature carry significant privacy implications, as malware created by advanced threat actors often ends up being repurposed for financial gain by targeting the general public. While it’s still early days for this particular malware, it’s crucial to install patches, enable automatic updates whenever possible, and do so for all applications, not just WhatsApp.

Oded Vanunu, Head of Products Vulnerability Research at Check Point Software Technologies, cautioned that vulnerabilities on mobile platforms are highly valued, citing the example of Zerodium’s price list, where a WhatsApp vulnerability allowing remote code execution could fetch up to US$1 million.

According to Hannan, the most effective course of action for users is to keep their app updated and report any unusual behavior. Leonard echoed this sentiment, stating that an infected device would exhibit noticeable differences compared to a clean one. While the specific actions taken by this malware are unknown, it’s reasonable to assume that an attacker might attempt to extract contact lists, email data, location data, or other personal information.

Dylan Castagne, Managing Director at Retarus Asia, emphasized the importance of best practices for secure and efficient information transmission. He advocated for using established standards like SMS (text messages) instead of proprietary systems like WhatsApp for business communications.

Furthermore, Castagne pointed out that this situation highlights the need for organizations to significantly improve their intrusion detection, investigation, and remediation capabilities across all communication channels. Given that advanced threats continue to outpace security mechanisms and cybercriminals are constantly developing new methods to breach networks and exploit attack vectors, including messaging applications and emails, it is more critical than ever to remain vigilant in today’s digital landscape.

Utilizing managed security service providers instead of traditional security tools offers businesses the benefit of regular feature enhancements and upgrades, improving their ability to counter modern cybersecurity threats.

Leonard added that adopting a behavior-based approach instead of a threat-based approach (where security professionals address individual threats one by one) can be highly effective. By analyzing the typical behavior of a device or any entity within a system, security professionals can quickly identify and act on anomalies to thwart even the most sophisticated attacks.

Data from Business of Apps in a blog post updated in February 2019 reveals the following:

• WhatsApp has 1.5 billion users across 180 countries, including 3 million WhatsApp Business users.
• The platform boasts 1 billion daily active users.
• India represents the largest WhatsApp market globally, with 200 million users (some estimates suggest this number has grown to 300 million).
• A staggering 65 billion WhatsApp messages are sent daily, equating to 29 million per minute, alongside 55 million WhatsApp video calls per day, totaling 340 million minutes.
• From May to July 2018, WhatsApp usage reached 85 billion hours.