WhatsApp bug let hackers hijack accounts with a video call, claim reports
LONDON: A bug in Facebook's WhatsApp messaging service allowed hackers to take over users' applications when they answered an incoming video call, technology websites ZDnet and The Register reported on Wednesday.
The vulnerability, which affected WhatsApp applications on Apple and Android smartphones, was discovered in late August and was fixed by Facebook in early October, according to a technical disclosure report posted online.
Facebook did not respond to requests for immediate comment. It is unclear whether the bug was ever used in an attack before it was fixed.
"This is a big deal," Travis Ormandy, a researcher at Google Project Zero which discovered the bug, said on Twitter.
"Just ++answering a call from an attacker could completely compromise WhatsApp." Facebook has suffered a string of security-related problems in the last year.
The company last week disclosed its worst-ever security breach affecting nearly 50 million accounts.
Courtesy: timesofindia
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Lokayukta raids govt officials in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): The Lokayukta on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids at the premises of several government officials across different districts of Karnataka in connection with alleged possession of disproportionate assets, officials said.
The searches were carried out at multiple locations linked to officials working in various government departments in districts including Bengaluru, Mandya, Dharwad, Hassan, Mysuru, Vijayapura and Yadgir, among others, they said.
According to Lokayukta officials, the raids targeted officials holding posts such as Assistant Executive Engineer, Junior Engineer, Deputy Electrical Inspector and Taluk Backward Classes Welfare Officer.
ALSO READ: More than 1,200 booked for drunk driving during Holi celebrations in Delhi
Among those raided was Assistant Executive Engineer M C Satyanarayana of the Hassan Municipal Corporation.
High drama unfolded during the raid at Satyanarayana’s residence in Hassan, where Lokayukta officials were forced to wait outside the house for more than an hour before gaining access as the door was not opened, sources said.
When Satyanarayana failed to respond to requests to open the gate, officials attempted to enter the house by climbing to the first floor.
In another case, officials conducted searches at the residence of Chief Engineer Vasantappa Nayak of Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited located in Akshaya Colony in Hubballi, sources said.
Currently serving in Bengaluru, Nayak had been transferred from Hubballi to Bengaluru in April last year. Officials are carrying out searches at his residence in Akshaya Colony, they said.
The raids were conducted by multiple teams of Lokayukta officials early in the morning at the residences and offices of the suspects following complaints regarding disproportionate assets.
