A fake WhatsApp app spies on users and steals their data: the danger comes from Italy and all those who use an iPhone are at risk.
A fake WhatsApp app threatens iPhone owners because it is able to spy on the smartphone and steal sensitive user data. The app was developed in Italy and is aimed at users who own an iOS device, but not through the official channels of Apple’s App Store.
The alarm was raised by the website Motherboard, which, together with computer technicians from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, discovered the dangerous app. It is a fake version of the popular messaging app, which is instead owned by Facebook, and is able to install a code in the phone that allows you to send sensitive data remotely. Unsuspecting iPhone users who have downloaded it thus find themselves sharing their information with the malicious, without even realizing the risk they are running. Behind the fake app, according to Citizen Lab and Motherboard, there would be the Italian company Cy4Gate, which, however, has denied any connection.
Fake WhatsApp app: what we know
The WhatsApp app has always been in the crosshairs of hackers to carry out illegal actions, since it is among the most downloaded in the world and being able to exploit it means being able to access thousands of victims in one fell swoop. This time the threat doesn’t come from overseas, as you would expect, but from Italy.
The scam was discovered by the website Motherboard, which collaborated with computer technicians from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, in Canada. A worrying picture emerges: the attack seems to have been carried out by the Italian company Cy4Gate, in order to sell the sensitive data collected without the knowledge of the unlucky users.
At the moment, it is not even clear for how long the fake WhatsApp app has been used and it is assumed that the victims were few and targeted, targets of interest for Cy4Gate’s customers, since the Italian company also works for institutional subjects both in Italy and abroad and among its customers there is also the United Arab Emirates.
Fake WhatsApp app: how the hacker attack works
The victims who fell into the hacker’s trap were reassured by the graphics of the websites, which are definitely not the official ones nor the Apple App Store, and they downloaded the fake WhatsApp app ignoring the danger.
In particular, fake websites were set up, created with graphics that made people think of WhatsApp, and with detailed instructions on how to install the app on their iPhone. Once installed, the app allowed phones to be spied on through MDM configuration files, which is a special profile that sets the behavior of an iPhone according to certain parameters. This is a special profile that sets the behavior of an iPhone according to certain parameters, a process that is usually used in companies to equip employees’ smartphones with special settings for internet communications.
After starting the download, the spying through MDM configuration files begins The hackers gained access to the phone to control it remotely and send sensitive data remotely, such as the SIM and device ID. The information stolen from users at the moment has not yet been identified by Canadian researchers, who continue to work on the hacker attack.
How to recognize WhatsApp fake app
Researchers at the moment have identified only a fake app for iOS, so those who have an Android smartphone do not risk anything (unless a version for Android is also discovered). Those who have an iPhone, however, are at risk.
It is possible to understand if we are faced with a fake WhatsApp app by paying attention to how we download it: Apple’s App Store is safe and there are no fake apps. The Apple App Store is safe and there are no fake apps there. This is not the case with WhatsApp apps downloaded from websites or other sources: in this case the risk of a fake and dangerous app is very high.