How WhatsApp Voice Calling missed calls hacking is a plus for Telegram and Signal

WhatsApp says its app allows mobile phones to be hacked via a missed in-app call.

The malware, designed by Israel’s NSO Group, gaining access to the Android OS via missed calls on the voice-calling function of WhatsApp as reported in the article “WhatsApp Discovers Spyware That Infected With A Call Alone”, Published Wednesday May 15, 2019, The Jamaica Gleaner. 

The numbers are scarce, but the number of infected may be in the millions, as a missed call is quit a common occurrence. So too is making a WhatsApp call.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

WhatsApp missed call vulnerability - Just switch to Telegram and you'll be fine

Good to note this was different from the hacking of WhatsApp back in August 8, 2018.

That job, which was uncovered by CheckPoint Security, was done via unsuspecting victims clicking on links as detailed in my blog article entitled “How CheckPoint Security says Hackers can read and send WhatsApp messages”.

So how do you stop this? Simply put, you can't... you just have to do the following:

1.      Backup WhatsApp

2.      Delete WhatsApp

3.      Reinstall the latest version from the Play Store or iTunes Store

This vulnerability points to the possibility that the NSO Group may be targeting voice notes or even recorded videos or audio uploads next, as those are also easy to send around as predicted in You probably weren’t a target of the “WhatsApp surveillance hack”, published 14 May 2019 by Zack Whittaker, Tech Crunch. 

They would only have to make it go viral to really take off.

So just switch to one of many alternatives as listed in my blog article entitled “Alternatives to WhatsApp for Jamaicans as Facebook Messenger, Instagram to merge soon”, such a Telegram which I currently use and you'll be fine.