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The human rights lawyer at the center of the WhatsApp security breach said it "does not come as a surprise" that the same spyware is used against it.
Facebook, which owns the messaging app used by 1.5 billion users, was released late Monday, after it was reported by the Financial Times. The breach, which exploited a vulnerability in WhatsApp that would allow a hacker to access all of the contents of a user's phone, its operating system, and a vulnerable time for the parent company.
WhatsApp, which boasts end-to-end encryption, is the crown jewel of privacy and security in the Facebook ecosystem, which is working to combine all of its messaging apps under the banner of a privacy scandals.
The victim of the hack is a London-based human rights lawyer, who spoke on the condition that is not revealed for security reasons. He told ABC News this month.
"Several weeks ago I started receiving WhatsApp video calls early in the morning," the lawyer told ABC News. Missed calls. I was suspicious of these calls. "
The calls originated in Sweden.
He then contacted Citizen Lab, a research center at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, which has previously investigated the use of spyware created by the NSO-based Israel-based NSO Group. phones of dissidents, human rights activists and journalists.
NSO, claiming the company's tracking software, Pegasus, was used to infiltrate the devices of dissidents including Omar Abdulaziz, a Saudi in Canada who claims his WhatsApp messages with his friend The murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, were accessed by hackers using Pegasus.
"NSO operates according to the law and adheres to a clear ethical policy that is meant to prevent misuse of its technology," NSO told ABC News in a statement. "NSO only permits its technology to be approved by the government and law enforcement agencies for the purpose of preventing and combating terrorism, according to clear definitions."
"In an age when terrorists and criminals hide behind sophisticated technologies, our products have helped the world's traffickers and criminals," the statement continued.
Abdulaziz Omar Abdulaziz is a member of the United States.
Citizen Lab started an investigation.
"As part of this investigation they have reached a conclusion that their vulnerability in the app was being exploited by Pegasus," the lawyer said. "The last of these calls it did not succeed. "
"It's all upsetting, but also the same time, it does not come as a surprise especially the case that we're working on – hacking attacks by using the same technology. These have been used in the past, "the lawyer said. "It's very ironic."
"I'm on the same legal team that reps Omar Abdulaziz aginst NSO, and that hack [of his WhatsApp messages] was linked to the Khashoggi case. This same technology was used to spy on the communication between Omar Abdulaziz and Jamal Khashoggi, "the lawyer said.
Three sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News the software used was NSO's Pegasus.
NSO issued a statement saying its technology is licensed to operate on the territory of the United States of America and the United States of America. technology to support their public safety missions. "
"Under no circumstances would NSO be involved in the operation of identification of targets of its technology, which should not be limited to including this individual, "the company said.
WhatsApp did not comment on the breach, but said the company is sharing information with the Department of Justice to assist in an investigation.
"WhatsApp encourages people to upgrade to the latest version of our app," said WhatsApp spokesperson wrote ABC in an emailed statement.
On Tuesday, European regulators confirmed they were looking into the breach of their year-old privacy regulations, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws.
Facebook, which owns the WhatsApp messaging app, has its European headquarters in Ireland, so Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the lead regulator in Europe. This is at least the 12th investigation by European regulators on Facebook since the European Union.
Officials from Ireland's DPC said it was told about the breach on Monday evening, and said that it has become more difficult to install a malicious software. Tuesday.
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