Around 500M WhatsApp Phone Numbers Have Been Leaked: Report
Nov. 28, 2022WhatsApp might have become a victim of a major data breach. As per a recent report, around 500 million WhatsApp phone numbers have been leaked and are up for sale. These numbers are from 84 countries, including India. Check out the details below for more information.
WhatsApp Data Leak Affects Nearly 500M Accounts
AreportbyCyberNewsreveals that a threat actor posted an ad on a hacking community forum tosell the data of 487 million WhatsApp users. The database included data belonging to around 32 million users in the US, 45 million in Egypt, 29 million in Saudi Arabia, 35 million in Italy, and over 11 million users in the UK. Data of millions of people in India, Russia, and more countries were leaked too.
If leaked, the WhatsApp numbers and other data can be used by malicious actors for scams, phishing, and more online crimes.
The report highlights that the threat actor was approached to see if the data is genuine and turned out, it was. The dataset had genuine 1,097 numbers and 817 WhatsApp phone numbers in the UK and the US, respectively. However, there’s no word on how the data was acquired.
AlthoughCyberNewshas a way for you to check if your data has ever been leaked, Just head to thiswebsiteand enter your number or email to find the answer. If your account has been compromised, it’s best to change your passwords and add extra layers of security like 2FA. Since it’s data leak on a huge scale, it’s best advised to stay safe and you can ensure this by not falling for suspicious links or WhatsApp messages. In case you come across any, just report them.
WhatsApp has provided an official statement on the matter. A WhatsApp spokesperson has said, “The claim written on Cybernews is based on unsubstantiated screenshots. There is no evidence of a ‘data leak’ from WhatsApp.”
In addition, CyberNews’ Chief Editor, Jurgita Lapienytė, has suggested that there’s no confirmation about the hack.
Started off as a stranger but tech is more like a good friend, thanks to over 5 years in the industry. While everything is attractive about tech, phones, social media, and quirky gadgets attract me the most. When not working, I find my solace in shopping and everything that concerns doggos!
