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A data leak in WhatsApp has exposed the phone numbers of about 360 million people from around 108 countries, according to an analysis conducted by a multinational company specializing in cybersecurity.
The phone numbers of these 360 million users of the instant messaging application are already for sale on the dark web, according to data provided today by the cybersecurity company Check Point.
WhatsApp sources have however asserted that “this is not a data breach” and expressed their “disappointment” that this cybersecurity company has “bought a list of phones circulating on the internet to repeat unfounded claims in order to get free publicity.”
Check Point today released the results of its analysis of files related to user data from that application, and said that over the past four days those files, which include dialer codes, have been offered for sale on the dark internet “and are being freely distributed to cybercriminals.”
The information being sold is only the active phone number, and in no case the content of users’ messages, according to this company, which has noted that in any case, this is a large-scale violation of a very popular application used by millions of people around the world.
The cybersecurity company has cited the possibility of these numbers being used as part of “phishing” attacks through the application itself, so they have stressed the importance of all users being extremely careful about the messages they receive and precautions when “clicking” on any links and messages shared through this application.
The most common attacks after gaining access to this data are “vishing” (the victim is tricked into giving information over the phone) and “smshing” which is done through SMS, according to this company, which has warned about the increase in attacks that have occurred coinciding with some key dates for e-commerce, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday or Amazon Prime Day.
