Government officials around the globe targeted for hacking through WhatsApp - sources
WhatsApp, which has an estimated 1.5 billion users around the world, has been roiled in controversy in India over data storage and privacy. PHOTO | YASUYOSHI CHIBA | AFP
Senior government officials in multiple US-allied countries were targeted earlier this year with hacking software that used Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp to take over users’ phones, according to people familiar with the messaging company’s investigation.
Sources familiar with WhatsApp’s internal investigation into the breach said a “significant” portion of the known victims are high-profile government and military officials spread across at least 20 countries on five continents. Many of the nations are US allies, they said.
