By Emmaculate mukokoromba

WhatsApp said on Tuesday a security breach on its messaging app had signs of coming from a government using surveillance technology developed by a private company and may have targeted human rights groups.

WhatsApp, which is part of Facebook, said it had notified the U.S. Department of Justice to help with an investigation, and encouraged all WhatsApp users to update to the latest version of the app, where the breach had been fixed.

WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging tools in the world, is used by 1.5 billion people monthly.

The company said it was still investigating the breach but believed only a “select number of users were targeted through this vulnerability by an advanced cyber actor.”

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), WhatsApp’s lead regulator in the European Union, said “that the vulnerability may have enabled a malicious actor to install unauthorised software and gain access to personal data on devices which have WhatsApp installed”.

The Financial Times initially reported on the WhatsApp vulnerability that allowed attackers to inject spyware on phones via the app’s phone call function.

The British newspaper said the spyware was developed by Israeli cyber surveillance company NSO Group — best known for its mobile surveillance tools — and affects both Android and iPhones.

Asked about the report, NSO said its technology is licensed to authorised government agencies “for the sole purpose of fighting crime and terror,” and that it does not operate the system itself while having a rigorous licensing and vetting process.

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