WhatsApp: here’s how to find out if your smartphone has been affected by the virus

A vulnerability in Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging application allowed hackers to spread surveillance software on iPhones and Android smartphones with a simple phone call, according to the Financial Times. Unfortunately, there seems to be no sure way to check if a device has been manipulated by ” surveillance software “. There are some signs that people can look for that could be useful in understanding if a mobile device is being manipulated without the knowledge of an attacker.

WhatsApp: What happens and how it is attacked

Spyware has been developed by the Israeli NSO group and can be installed without a trace simply by receiving a call. Moreover, it is not necessary to answer the call itself and once installed, the malware can activate cameras and microphone of the terminal, scan the list of e-mails and messages, and collect data on the positions reached by the user.

WhatsApp advises all users to update the app immediately, with the latest version of the client distributed on the stores that closes the security hole. Within a note, the company wanted to state:

” WhatsApp encourages all users to update to the latest version of the app, as well as to keep the mobile operating system up-to-date, to protect themselves from potential exploits designed to compromise the information stored on the mobile device.”

WhatsApp: How to find out if you are spied on

Unfortunately, there is no precise method or some specific application that allows you to actually understand 100% if you have been hit by spyware or not. But there are some precautions that can make users perceive if there are problems or not with the smartphone. What can be easily verified. First of all, is the possibility that there are changes to the operation of the device.

For example: abnormal responses to battery life compared to before. Not only because there could be abnormal overheating even in light work sessions. This could indicate the sending or receiving of a decidedly abnormal amount of data and could suggest that an attacker was actually entering through spyware.

Some latest-generation smartphones and above all with the Android Pie operating system or even iOS 12 allow the use of system applications such as ” Digital Well-being ” or ” Time of Use ” which display applications for applications such as accesses and even how many notifications have been received. In this case, abnormal movements of some application that actually was not used could sound like an alarm bell for the user who actually knows how he used the smartphone on a daily basis.

Controlling this data is certainly an advantage for users to have a vision of what is happening to their smartphone. It is absolutely essential to update WhatsApp to the latest version released by the developers following the discovery of the vulnerability. Not only, the advice is also to uninstall any application that, according to everyday use, seems to react abnormally and differently than other classic days.