WhatsApp fixes loophole which exposed users’ no. on Google
Anam.Ajmal@timesgroup.com
New Delhi:11.06.2020
Instant messaging platform WhatsApp has fixed a loophole which was exposing users’ phone numbers in plain text to any internet user on Google, the Facebook-owned app said on Wednesday, two days after a cyber security researcher claimed that between 29k to 3 lakh users were impacted by the loophole.
“What makes this finding easy or appears to be simple is that data is accessible on the open web and not on the dark web,” researcher Athul Jayaram wrote in his blog post.
According to Jayaram, the “leak” occurred through WhatsApp’s “click to chat” feature, which allows users to begin a chat with someone without having their phone number saved in their address book. The feature generates a link, which users can then click to begin a conversation with anyone who has an active WhatsApp connection. He further said that cybercriminals and fraudsters could target users whose numbers are exposed to Google.
WhatsApp denied that it was a vulnerability. “Our Click to Chat feature, which lets users create a URL with their phone number so that anyone can easily message them, is used widely by small and micro-businesses around the world to connect with their customers,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said.
No comments:
Post a Comment