WhatsApp has informed approximately 200 users who were deceived into downloading a rogue version of the chat application that included spyware.
WhatsApp has accused the Italian spyware company SIO of developing a counterfeit version of its messaging application for iPhones, as per an announcement the company released to TechCrunch.
“Our security team proactively identified about 200 users mainly in Italy whom we suspect may have installed this malicious unofficial client,” WhatsApp stated in its announcement. “We have logged them out, warned [them] of the privacy and security risks associated with downloading fake unofficial clients, and urged them to uninstall it and acquire the official WhatsApp app.”
WhatsApp representative Margarita Franklin informed TechCrunch that the company currently cannot disclose further details about the users it informed, such as whether they were journalists or civil society members.
“Our focus has been on safeguarding the users who may have been misled into downloading this counterfeit iOS application,” Franklin stated.
In its announcement, WhatsApp also mentioned plans to “issue a formal legal demand to cease any such malicious actions against this spyware entity.”
The news was first reported by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica and the news agency ANSA.
Last year, TechCrunch uncovered that SIO was responsible for a range of malicious Android applications containing its spyware, including counterfeit versions of WhatsApp, as well as bogus customer support tools for mobile networks. SIO’s spyware was recognized by the name Spyrtacus, a term found in the spyware’s coding.
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Do you possess additional information regarding SIO or other government spyware producers? From a non-work device, you can securely reach out to Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or through Telegram, Keybase, and Wire @lorenzofb, or via email.
Utilizing counterfeit applications against surveillance targets is a well-established strategy employed by authorities in Italy, who frequently receive cooperation from mobile network providers, sending phishing links to their clientele on behalf of law enforcement.
SIO develops government spyware through its subsidiary ASIGINT.
Apple and SIO did not respond to a request for comments.
WhatsApp’s recent announcement follows a year after the company warned approximately 90 users that they had been targeted with spyware developed by the U.S.-Israeli surveillance technology firm Paragon Solutions. WhatsApp sent those alerts to journalists and pro-immigration advocates, among others, igniting a significant scandal throughout Italy.
In response, Paragon severed its connections with Italy’s intelligence agencies, which had been its customers.