• By JE Technology Desk
  • Mon, 28 Nov 2022 06:56 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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HOURS after it was reported that WhatsApp has allegedly had a data leak, the instant messaging app in a statement refuted all the claims.

"The claim written on Cybernews is based on unsubstantiated screenshots. There is no evidence of a ‘data leak’ from WhatsApp," it said in an official statement.

The breach was first reported by Cybernews. According to the report, someone managed to hack WhatsApp and acquired the personal information of almost 500 million users, which is now purportedly for sale.

The same was also tweeted by cryptocurrency exchange major Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, "A new set of 487 million WhatsApp phone numbers for sales in the Dark Web. A sample indicates the phone numbers are legit. Please stay vigilant as threat actors downstream will use this data to conduct smishing (phishing messages) campaigns. Stay SAFU."

The listing states that the user data comprises 32 million US users and comes from 84 other nations including Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, France, and Turkey.

Chief editor of Cybernews Jurgita Lapienyte also clarified it and said that there is no such evidence of a leak. Taking to Twitter she wrote, "There's no evidence WhatsApp has been hacked. The leak might be a scrape but that doesn't mean it's any less dangerous for the affected users."

The messaging app, while clarifying the same, also said that the shared list is a set of phone numbers and not "WhatsApp user information".

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