The Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions conducted attacks on 90 of WhatsApp’s users comprising journalists together with civil society members and Meta recently confirmed this revelation. WhatsApp representatives indicate the attack hit more than twenty-four countries specifically targeting European regions.
The cyber attack used group chat weaknesses as well as harmful PDF attachments to achieve illicit system access for users’ devices. The exploitation vector of WhatsApp has been disrupted by the company which followed with a legal warning sent to Paragon Solutions. Warning notices with protection advice have been sent to affected users among whom Francesco Cancellato represents the Italian social media outlet Fanpage.it.
The security investigation received backing from WhatsApp security staff as well as the cybersecurity researchers from Citizen Lab situated at the University of Toronto. Researcher John Scott-Railton from Citizen Lab warned users about such spyware because it turns phones into observation tools through which attackers can reach encrypted content and launch camera or microphone operations remotely. 
The recent surveillance incident matches WhatsApp’s legal battle from 2019 against the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group. The spyware sector continues to grow beyond control according to Natalia Krapiva of Access Now despite legal wins and punishment against surveillance firms such as WhatsApp. Growing cyber dangers have intensified the need for greater responsibility from those involved.
