WhatsApp hacked to spy on top officials

Senior government officials in at least 20 US-allied countries had their phones taken over by spies exploiting vulnerabilities in WhatsApp, according to a Reuters report.

A 'significant' portion of the victims were high-profile government and military officials in a breach that could have broad political consequences. Officials in the US, UAE, Bahrain, Mexico, Pakistan and India were among those targted.

It's not clear who the perpetrator of the attack was but WhatsApp filed a lawsuit this week against Israeli hacking tool developer NSO Group, who they say built and sold a hacking platform that was used to hack into the phones of 1400 users.