Pakistan Military, govt officials likely targeted in global WhatsApp hack

[Asian.Century]

Pakistan Military, Army, Airforce, Navy Men, Government & Administration officials targeted in global WhatsApp hack

WASHINGTON:

Senior government officials & Military men in multiple US-allied countries were targeted earlier this year with hacking software that used Facebook’s WhatsApp to take over users’ phones, according to people familiar with the messaging company’s investigation.
Sources familiar with WhatsApp’s internal investigation into the breach said a “significant” portion of the known victims are high-profile government and military officials spread across at least 20 countries on five continents. Many of the nations are US allies, they said.

Some victims are in the United States, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Mexico, Pakistan, and India, said people familiar with the investigation. Reuters could not verify whether the government officials were from those countries or elsewhere.

The hacking of a wider group of top government officials’ smartphones than previously reported suggests the WhatsApp cyber intrusion could have broad political and diplomatic consequences.

WhatsApp filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Israeli hacking tool developer NSO Group. The Facebook-owned software giant alleges that NSO Group built and sold a hacking platform that exploited a flaw in WhatsApp-owned servers to help clients hack into the cellphones of at least 1,400 users between April 29, 2019, and May 10, 2019.

The total number of WhatsApp users hacked could be even higher. A London-based human rights lawyer, who was among the targets, sent Reuters photographs showing attempts to break into his phone dating back to April 1.

Cyber-security and its objectives

While it is not clear who used the software to hack officials’ phones, NSO has said it sells its spyware exclusively to government customers.

Some Indian nationals have gone public with allegations they were among the targets over the past couple of days; they include journalists, academics, lawyers and defenders of India’s Dalit community.

NSO said in a statement that it was “not able to disclose who is or is not a client or discuss specific uses of its technology.” Previously it has denied any wrongdoing, saying its products are only meant to help governments catch terrorists and criminals.

Cybersecurity researchers have cast doubt on those claims over the years, saying NSO products were used against a wide range of targets, including protesters in countries under authoritarian rule.

Citizen Lab, an independent watchdog group that worked with WhatsApp to identify the hacking targets, said on Tuesday at least 100 of the victims were civil society figures such as journalists and dissidents, not criminals.

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, said it was not surprising that foreign officials would be targeted as well.

Facebook launches tool to let users control data flow

“It is an open secret that many technologies branded for law enforcement investigations are used for state-on-state and political espionage,” Scott-Railton said.

Prior to notifying victims, WhatsApp checked the target list against existing law enforcement requests for information relating to criminal investigations, such as terrorism or child exploitation cases. But the company found no overlap, said a person familiar with the matter. Governments can submit such requests for information to WhatsApp through an online portal the company maintains.

WhatsApp has said it sent warning notifications to affected users earlier this week. The company has declined to comment on the identities of NSO Group’s clients, who ultimately chose the targets.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2091335/8-government-officials-around-globe-targeted-hacking-whatsapp/

 

[Zulfiqar]

@Sine Nomine , @Zulfiqar

I am not the kind of person who would say "Didnt I say so", but I guess my first thread on this board which got merged with dubious's idea no 3, at my request was on the need of cybersecurity in Pakistan.

Zulfiqar bhai, I can vet most of the "active service" class fellows/course mates have left whatsapp groups we only call each other up on phone or sms. But not all of them flag rank officers have not done it, some of them still use it.

We need to develop custom roms something like xda.

I also know it because several of my friends,family members including my father had to leave some groups.

Shared about it some months ago as well

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/sentinels-of-the-sea-heroes.606649/#post-11254909

Enforcement is one issue --- the other is that even if you're not active in the groups, malware and spyware can make its way into your phone and keep your mic on even if your phone is powered off.



The problem is that WhatsApp is just the 'vector' of getting in just like the flu virus uses mucus membranes to enter the human host. Once in, all kinds of stuff starts happening that is generally unrelated to the actual method of entry.

Whatsapp is just a medium as you said. The problem is use of social engineering and malware that in combination does most of the damage.

So many analysts can geo-locate your location from pictures alone and fuse that information along with other data to get a larger picture.

A simple example is of russian mercs/GRU staff operating in ukraine and Syria whose deployment profile was created using pictures alone.

Moreover no matter how much "air gapped" a system is, enemy can still achieve its objective using human moles which I am sure you know more than many of us.

We need our own unit 8200 otherwise 10 years down the line the situation would be a lot worse.

 

[xyxmt]

WhatsApp + Diesel attacks

 

[TNT]

He must be from the early '60s, even keyloggers are now considered outdated as they were really famous during early 2000.

Unfortunately no, was much younger.

 

[Sine Nomine]

Whatsapp is just a medium as you said. The problem is use of social engineering and malware that in combination does most of the damage.

So many analysts can geo-locate your location from pictures alone and fuse that information along with other data to get a larger picture.

A simple example is of russian mercs/GRU staff operating in ukraine and Syria whose deployment profile was created using pictures alone.

Moreover no matter how much "air gapped" a system is, enemy can still achieve its objective using human moles which I am sure you know more than many of us.

We need our own unit 8200 otherwise 10 years down the line the situation would be a lot worse.

MOD needs to introduce counter-OSINT course for all branches,atleast teaching them what should they do with their phones and what not.

 

[Zulfiqar]

MOD needs to introduce counter-OSINT course for all branches,atleast teaching them what should they do with their phones and what not.

The units rotating through PATA/FATA theater used to even have platoon/company level intelligence cells (apart from MI e.t.c) for CT ops and post op IBOs.

So Junior and mid level officers are more aware than ever before on the aspect of intel gathering.

However, I don't know about Opsec and counter intel courses among the current lot of officers working in regular formations.

I do know about some SOPs in some mil affiliated places w.r.t PC hardware/software/network handling but I am not going to lay it out in the open.

Overall use of social media to share images/video by mil personnel just to look cool among their relatives/friends/bachees should be curtailed as it does not help anyone in long run.

 

[R Wing]

The units rotating through PATA/FATA theater used to even have platoon/company level intelligence cells (apart from MI e.t.c) for CT ops and post op IBOs.

So Junior and mid level officers are more aware than ever before on the aspect of intel gathering.

However, I don't know about Opsec and counter intel courses among the current lot of officers working in regular formations.

I do know about some SOPs in some mil affiliated places w.r.t PC hardware/software/network handling but I am not going to lay it out in the open.

Overall use of social media to share images/video by mil personnel just to look cool among their relatives/friends/bachees should be curtailed as it does not help anyone in long run.

The whole issue is in learning good counter-intel tradecraft, which is missing even in many intel officers with years of experience!