Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

WhatsApp denies 500 mn users' data leak

Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Nov, 2022 01:52 PM
  • WhatsApp denies 500 mn users' data leak

New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) Meta-owned WhatsApp on Monday denied that phone numbers of 487 million users have been stolen and put on sale on a "well-known" hacking community forum.

Cybernews first reported that the dataset allegedly contains WhatsApp user data from 84 countries and phone numbers of over 32 million users from the US, 11 million from the UK, and 10 million from Russia.

"The claim written on Cybernews is based on unsubstantiated screenshots. There is no evidence of a 'data leak' from WhatsApp," a company spokesperson told IANS.

The purported list is a set of phone numbers and not "WhatsApp user information".

According to the report, the hacker claimed to have a significant number of phone numbers belonging to the citizens of Egypt (45 million), Italy (35 million), Saudi Arabia (29 million), France (20 million), and Turkey (20 million).

The hacker was selling the US dataset for $7,000, the UK for $2,500, and Germany for $2,000, according to the report.

Cybernews researchers were able to get in touch with the hacker. Upon investigation, the researchers found that all of them were active WhatsApp users.

However, the hacker did not specify how they obtained the data, suggesting they "used their strategy," and that all the numbers belong to WhatsApp users, said the report.

This database can be used by hackers for spamming, phishing attempts, identity theft, and other cybercriminal activities, the report had said.

Photo courtesy of IStock. 

MORE Tech ARTICLES

Most Women Will Post Only Sixth Selfie On Facebook: Survey

Most Women Will Post Only Sixth Selfie On Facebook: Survey
"The sixth selfie is the one that women would use on an average, while men were happy with their image on the fourth try," showed the results 

Most Women Will Post Only Sixth Selfie On Facebook: Survey

First Selfie Stick Appeared In 1980s

First Selfie Stick Appeared In 1980s
Do you have any idea when the first selfie stick was invented? Well, it was invented in the 1980s by Hiroshi Ueda, who worked for the Minolta camera company at the time and was a keen photographer, 

First Selfie Stick Appeared In 1980s

Indian-Origin Scientist Develops First Self-powered Camera

Indian-Origin Scientist Develops First Self-powered Camera
Computer scientist Shree K. Nayar from the Columbia University has invented the world's first fully self-powered video camera that can produce an image each second, indefinitely, of a well-lit indoor scene.

Indian-Origin Scientist Develops First Self-powered Camera

Things To Know About Apple's New Photo-storage Service, Free With Wednesday's Mac Upgrade

Things To Know About Apple's New Photo-storage Service, Free With Wednesday's Mac Upgrade
NEW YORK — On Wednesday, Apple is expected to release a free update to its Mac operating system. The update will bring a new Photos app for Mac computers and launch an online photo-storage service called iCloud Photo Library. 

Things To Know About Apple's New Photo-storage Service, Free With Wednesday's Mac Upgrade

Review: Apple's New Photos App For Mac Makes It Easy To Fix, Crop And Organize Your Pictures

Review: Apple's New Photos App For Mac Makes It Easy To Fix, Crop And Organize Your Pictures
NEW YORK — If you're like most people, those hundreds of photos you took on vacation are still on your camera or phone. You shared a handful on Facebook or Instagram, and tell yourself that you'll sift through the others — one day.

Review: Apple's New Photos App For Mac Makes It Easy To Fix, Crop And Organize Your Pictures

It's Not So Simple: Your Guide To Trying On, Ordering Apple Watch

It's Not So Simple: Your Guide To Trying On, Ordering Apple Watch
NEW YORK — Buying an Apple Watch won't be as simple as walking into an Apple store and handing over your credit card.

It's Not So Simple: Your Guide To Trying On, Ordering Apple Watch