In what has to do with security, joy in the world of technology goes by neighborhoods. Today it has been known that they do not have to be happy at all WhatsApp in the event that a piece of news is confirmed that is spreading like wildfire. This indicates that a large amount of information from its database would have been stolen.
This is not the first time that this has happened to the well-known messaging application, but for quite some time the information that usually comes from it has to do with updates to its services rather than any type of security problem. The fact is that from the source of the information we are talking about the sale of nothing more and nothing less than 500 million phone numbers from the WhatsApp database. A figure as shocking as it is beneficial for whoever has managed to get hold of the data in question.
Lots of information and completely up to date
The first thing with the aforementioned data is quite clear and, secondly, we say it because it indicates that the telephone numbers are of users active. That is, those who use the application on a regular basis. Therefore, they are completely valid. In addition, they are very varied in what has to do with the sources, since they belong to 84 different countries among which, unfortunately, there is Spain. Specifically, it has been indicated that ten million of the numbers belong to users in our country. Therefore, it is quite easy that, if everything is confirmed, yours could be one of those affected.
At the moment, the technique that the hackers would have used to get hold of the information has not been known, but regardless of this, what happened can make more than one think very seriously about using Telegram as a regular messaging app (which, to date, , has had fairly minor security issues). And what could they do with the data that has been obtained? Well, there are all kinds of options, but there is no lack of identity fraud; fraud in different entities; and, of course, the always painful phishing -which is a torment for many users-.
The only possible option now is to be attentive
Since the list of the numbers that have been affected has not been published (in case WhatsApp itself confirms what happened, something that has not happened so far), the only way to check if there is a risk with the number is to check that the normal operation of your online services is maintained. If you’re constantly receiving two-step security requests or unusual actions with your number, you should be suspicious. And, if necessary, take action on the matter that could lead to a change.
