Hey everyone welcome back to tech feed i’m juliet beauchamp. Today, we’ve got a hack on our hands. I’m diving into the recent whatsapp hack and what you should do to protect yourself. Stick around.

Security researchers recently revealed that hackers took advantage of a security flaw in whatsapp to potentially spy on users’ communication. The hack gives attackers access to devices’ cameras and microphones as well as data within whatsapp. The spyware seems to resemble the work of an israeli technology firm called n-s-o group. It’s important to note here that n-s-o group has been accused of allegedly assisting in the spying of some human rights activists.

A london-based lawyer who is involved in lawsuits against n-s-o group became suspicious his phone had been hacked when he began missing whatsapp video calls from a swedish number. That led him to contact the citizen lab at the university of toronto. As the citizen lab was investigating, whatsapp engineers found evidence of quote “abnormal voice calling activity.” Citizen lab then confirmed with whatsapp that the lawyer was affected by the vulnerability. N-s-o group said it licenses its spyware to government agencies, and that it would investigate allegations of improper use.

So, the spyware worked by placing a whatsapp call. Even if the receiving party didn’t pick up, hackers could insert malicious code into a device. I know this seems scary. While the attack seems to have only targeted human rights activists, it’s good to take steps to secure your device no matter who you are. Here’s how–

First, immediately update your whatsapp to the latest version. It’s also good to make sure your device’s operating system is up to date. With the latest o-s and the latest app update, you can protect yourself against known and patched security vulnerabilities. You can also limit app’s access to your microphone or camera as an extra precaution.

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