WhatsApp Alerts 200 Users Hit by Spyware via Fake iPhone App, Blames Italian Firm

• WhatsApp identified approximately 200 users, mostly in Italy, who downloaded a malicious fake iPhone app.
• The attack used social engineering to trick users into installing a spyware-laden version of WhatsApp, not technical exploits.
• WhatsApp's parent company Meta blames Italian surveillance firm SIO and its subsidiary ASIGINT for developing the spyware.
• Victims were logged out and warned; Meta is taking legal steps to halt further malicious activity.
• The fake app was distributed via third-party channels, bypassing official app store safeguards, and granted access to sensitive user data.