WhatsApp Details

    Organization Logo

    WhatsApp

    Menlo Park, California • employees • Technology

    Industry

    Technology

    Security Incidents

    1

    WhatsApp Inc. is a global communication company founded in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, later acquired by Facebook (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) in 2014. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and specializes in developing its namesake messaging app, which has revolutionized instant communication with its focus on privacy and simplicity. As a subsidiary of Meta, WhatsApp continues to innovate and expand its services to billions of users worldwide.

    Security Incidents

    WhatsApp Breach of Sep 2022
    Severity Score
    Low

    Type

    Unknown

    Summary

    In September 2022, WhatsApp faced a critical security bug, CVE-2022-27492, with a severity rating of 7.8 out of 10. This vulnerability could enable hackers to execute malicious code on a victim's device. Additionally, another bug fix, CVE-2022-27492, addressed an integer underflow flaw in WhatsApp for Android and iOS versions prior to specific updates. Reports surfaced on a hacking community forum indicating a breach of nearly 500 million WhatsApp user records available for sale. WhatsApp swiftly responded by patching two remote code execution vulnerabilities in its September update, preventin...
    Show more

    Severity

    The WhatsApp data breach in September 2022 involved critical vulnerabilities such as an integer overflow that could lead to remote code execution during video calls. Another high severity vulnerability, CVE-2022-27492, was also disclosed, allowing hackers to run malicious code on victims' devices.

    Impact

    The breach impacted 487 million WhatsApp accounts, with data from users in 84 countries being affected. Enquiries from potential buyers for the scraped data were posted on a popular hacking forum almost immediately, indicating a significant risk of data misuse and privacy violations.

    KEEP YOUR ENVIRONMENT SECURE

    Weak credentials are the leading cause of breaches. Beyond Identity can help.

    See MFA exploits in action
    Watch how adversaries exploit companies in quick videos