You can lose your WhatsApp account easier than you thought.Anyway knows your phone number can force your account of your WhatsApp account.
Cyber security experts have discovered a method of attack on WhatsApp, whereby the victim's device can be blocked to access his own account.
What do you need to do so you don't lose your WhatsApp account
Within this attack, two different problems within the authentication system used by WhatsApp are taken advantage of.The first step is to block the sending of the identity confirmation codes.Thus, the attacker will try to authenticate with the victim's phone number several times.At each attempt, on the victim's number, the six -digit code will be sent, confirming the identity.
The victim will receive the codes, but he will not have to do with them, being already authenticated.After a certain number of attempts, WhatsApp will block the code of codes for 12 hours.
The second step is as simple.The attacker sends an e-mail to the support service from WhatsApp in which he claims that he has no right to access his own account and is asked for the phone number (which he knows).
At this moment an automatic migration process is initiated.Thus, the account is blocked on the victim's phone and activated on the attacker.As the ones from ESET say, it is a simple process, which does not require advanced knowledge and refined methods, available to anyone.
The attack is possible including when the two -step authentication system is activated, but not if the user adds his own email address here.WhatsApp includes the 2FA option, by which the activation of a device can be conditioned by an additional PIN, known only by the user, but also an e-mail address.
If in the settings regarding the authentication in two steps in WhatsApp, the own e-mail address is added, the migration process from one device will be done only for the requests that come from the specified e-mail address.
A new scam circulates on the social network
WhatsApp is again in the hacker viewfinder.The most used messaging application in the world is the target of a cyber scam, and Alexis Conran, an expert in technology, has launched a warning for users.
This time, people using WhatsApp are targeted by a new attack, which work on a much more dangerous scheme.Hackers use an already compromised account to steal other people's accounts.
Specifically, the victims receive a message from WhatsApp with an authentication code to be used on a phone, according to Alexis Conran's post.The attackers, on the other hand, assume the identity of a contact of the victim targeted by the attack and ask her to give them the code received on the phone.