WhatsApp: If You're Sent This Picture, Your Phone Is In Serious Danger
A new security vulnerability is threatening WhatsApp users. Receive a picture, and the hackers have access without you having to do anything. Fortunately, the remedy is super simple. We show what every WhatsApp user should do now.
The fact that you shouldn't click on every unknown link or install unknown apps should hopefully be clear to any reasonably thoughtful user. But there are also security vulnerabilities where users have done nothing wrong at all. Just such a vulnerability has now emerged in WhatsApp.
How does the security gap work?
The gap, which has now been officially confirmed, can be used to carry out so-called zero-click attacks. In other words, malware can be installed on a smartphone without the user having to make any input. In the case of WhatsApp, hackers hide a link in a manipulated photo. On receipt, the data is processed so that WhatsApp can then show you the image.
The spyware is installed automatically during this process. In other words, before you have even opened WhatsApp and viewed the image. For this reason, such a gap is particularly serious. Meta has already officially reported the vulnerability to the European Union with a "high" risk rating. And a solution is already available.
How to protect your WhatsApp
Fortunately, protecting yourself from this serious security vulnerability is super easy. Companies like Meta always take care of fixing the vulnerability first before officially reporting it. After all, the vulnerability is likely to be exploited by significantly more people as soon as it is officially reported.
Meta has already closed the gap with an app update, thus fixing the problem. Now it is the users' turn to install this update. Anyone who has activated automatic updates on their smartphone should have already received the update. Provided you don't switch off the Wi-Fi while charging or don't have enough free storage space. So it's best to check the app store to see if your WhatsApp is up to date and, if available, install an update. This is how it works:
iPhone: Open the App Store and click on your profile picture in the top right-hand corner. Now drag downwards in the middle of the screen to reload the page. You will then see all available updates and can install them by clicking on "Update all".
Android: Open the Play Store and click on your profile picture in the top right-hand corner. Now click on "Manage apps and devices" and then on "Install all updates".
