WHO: Omicron could spread faster but it''s still not certain
Geneva, Dec 8 (AP) The World Health Organization says early evidence suggests the omicron variant may be spreading faster than the highly transmissible delta variant but brings with it less severe coronavirus disease - though it's too early to make firm conclusions.
The comments come among swirling concerns about the new variant that first emerged in southern Africa last month, prompting some countries to shut their borders and rattling stock markets fearful of the long-term impact of a possible new variant of the virus that has already infected at least 267 million people and killed more than 5.2 million.
Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO's chief of emergencies, told reporters Wednesday that data about the omicron variant so far is pointing to a virus that's efficiently transmitting and probably more efficiently transmitting than even the delta variant, which is by far the most widespread and deadly version.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for COVID-19 at the U.N. health agency, cautioned that it was too early to determine the severity of disease caused by omicron, saying there's only anecdotal information about that for now.
We certainly have information from South Africa that many of the patients that are identified with omicron have a more mild course of disease, she said. But it does take time for people to go through the full course of their infection.
Meanwhile, WHO officials stuck to their stance that giving booster shots to people who are already vaccinated should be a secondary priority to getting first doses into the arms of people in places that have relatively little vaccination coverage.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO's chief scientist, said wholesale boosting is not the solution right now. That appeared to be an allusion to policies in some countries, notably in hard-hit Europe and the United States, that encourage broad categories of people to get booster shots, not just groups that are seen as especially vulnerable.
The data from country after country after country is showing that the people who are in the ICUs, the people who are severely ill, and the people who are dying are the unvaccinated, she said. I think the message is loud and clear that it's a primary course of vaccination that is going to protect against severe disease and death -- that has to be our goal.
Boosters, she added, aren't useful in countries with large vaccine supplies but where up to 50% of people have not gotten vaccinated, whether out of concern for secondary effects or other reasons.
At this point, the benefits that we will get from reaching those people who have not received primary courses of vaccination are going to be higher than giving additional doses to those who have already completed a primary course, Swaminathan said.
The agency had hoped to vaccinate priority populations the elderly, people with weaker immune systems and health care workers - in all countries by the end of this year. But rich countries with big vaccine stockpiles have monopolized most doses.
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CERT-In warns of ‘ghostpairing’ attack targeting whatsApp users, flags high-risk account takeovers
New Delhi: India’s national cybersecurity agency, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), has issued a high-severity alert warning WhatsApp users of an active account takeover campaign using a new technique known as “GhostPairing," in an advisory released on December 19.
CERT-In said cybercriminals are exploiting WhatsApp’s device-linking feature to gain unauthorised access to user accounts without the need for passwords or SIM card swaps, as reported by The Indian Express. The attackers, the agency warned, deceive users into entering pairing codes, which silently grants control of the account to a malicious device.
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According to CERT-In, the GhostPairing method works by tricking victims into approving an attacker’s browser as a trusted linked device. The advisory said, “The attack manipulates users into granting access through a pairing code that appears legitimate." It further added that once access is granted, attackers can fully operate the account through WhatsApp Web.
Last month, the Department of Telecommunications directed messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram to implement continuous SIM binding which required accounts to remain linked to an active SIM card. As part of this directive, companion web sessions are expected to be logged out periodically and re-authenticated using QR codes.
CERT-In said the GhostPairing campaign typically begins with a message appearing to come from a trusted contact, often reading, “Hi, check this photo”. The message contains a link designed to mimic a Facebook-style preview, and clicking the link leads users to a fake verification page, where they are prompted to enter their phone number and a code. Victims unknowingly allow attackers to link their WhatsApp account to an external device, by completing these steps,.
Once compromised, attackers can access messages, photos, videos and voice notes in real time, and can impersonate the victim to send messages to individual contacts or groups, the agency said.
The advisory also noted that WhatsApp currently allows multiple devices to be linked to a single account, a feature that is being misused in such attacks. In October, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs had flagged a related trend involving scammers using social media advertisements to lure users into linking their WhatsApp accounts.
While the government’s SIM-binding push is intended to limit such fraud, it has raised concerns among legal experts and digital rights groups, who argue that constant SIM verification, could affect privacy and disrupt multi-device usage, particularly for professionals.
To reduce risk, CERT-In has urged users to avoid clicking on suspicious links, even if they appear to come from known contacts, and to never enter phone numbers or verification codes on external websites claiming to be linked to WhatsApp or Facebook. Users have also been advised to regularly review the “Linked Devices” section within WhatsApp settings and immediately log out of any unfamiliar sessions.
For organisations relying on WhatsApp for communication, the agency has recommended security awareness training, closer monitoring for phishing attempts, and the establishment of clear response protocols to detect and contain account compromises quickly.
