WhatsApp has endured a difficult 2019 on the security front, with stories of nation-state hacking campaigns and multiple vulnerabilities, even as it battles with governments and their agencies over its insistence on end-to-end encryption. And now, just as the year draws to a close, there’s news of yet another security threat that has compromised the integrity of the platform. The risk this time is from specially crafted “app killing” messages that crash WhatsApp severely enough that users are taken offline and may find it difficult to recover.
Are you at risk?
WhatsApp has patched the issue—it did so in September when it was first privately disclosed by cybersecurity researchers at Check Point. But if you have not installed a new release since before that time you remain at risk.
Defenx PLC (LON:DFX), founded in 2009 and listed on the London Stock Exchange, is an up-and-coming company in the mobile security sector which offers a wide range of solutions for the protection of smartphones, desktop PCs and laptops.