Popular messaging app WhatsApp has been hit by a software vulnerability in their new web-based version, which was rolled out last month.
The vulnerability was discovered by CheckPoint Security, who claim that it could compromise computers by allowing hackers to distribute malware, including ransomware, boots, remote access tools and other types of malicious code.
Hackers can easily take over victims’ computers by having access to their phone number and sending an innocuous v-card contact containing the malicious code.
Richard Cassidy, a spokesperson from security firm Alert logic says that this type of threat against WhatsApp isn’t new in terms of how we see hackers exploit popular messaging services and that users of any IM application need to stick to online best practices to reduce the risk of being compromised.
WhatsApp have responded quickly to the news of the vulnerability and have issued an update for all their web clients that blocks the problem feature, although users are still being advised to check that they are running a fully up-to-date version of the web client to ensure they are not vulnerable to the issue.
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