WhatsApp Says Journalists and Civil Society Members Were Targets of Israeli Spyware

Nearly 100 journalists and other members of civil society using WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Meta, were targeted by spyware owned by Paragon, an Israeli maker of hacking software, the company alleged today. From a report: The journalists and other civil society members were being alerted of a possible breach of their devices, with WhatsApp telling the Guardian it had 'high confidence' that the users in question had been targeted and 'possibly compromised.'

The company declined to disclose where the journalists and members of civil society were based, including whether they were based in the US. The company said it had sent Paragon a 'cease and desist' letter and that it was exploring its legal options. WhatsApp said the alleged attacks had been disrupted in December and that it was not clear how long the targets may have been under threat.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.