WhatsApp Alerts 200 Users to Fake App Spyware

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has notified approximately 200 users, primarily in Italy, that they installed a counterfeit version of the messaging app laced with spyware developed by an Italian surveillance firm. The alerts, issued in recent days, warn that the fake app, which impersonated the legitimate WhatsApp client, was designed to monitor victims' devices without their knowledge.

The malicious software originated from ASIGINT, a subsidiary of SIO, a northern Italy-based company that provides cyber intelligence tools to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. According to WhatsApp, the campaign targeted a limited number of individuals through social engineering tactics, deceiving them into downloading the fake app via unofficial channels rather than the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. These methods included phishing links or messages that appeared to come from trusted sources, such as mobile carriers, prompting users to install what they believed was a legitimate update or special version of WhatsApp.

Once installed, the spyware, identified in its code as Spyrtacus, could access sensitive information including text messages, chat histories, call logs,...