Shocking Revelation! Pay Millions of Dollars to Hack WhatsApp

Usama AnjumLast Updated: Oct 6, 2023

Amid increased security measures, hacking cell phones, including iOS and Android, has become an expensive endeavor. Hacking techniques for apps such as WhatsApp are now valued at millions of dollars. A Russian company recently offered $20 million for chains of bugs enabling remote compromise of iOS and Android phones, specifically targeting Russian private and government organizations.

Outside of Russia, prices for zero-day exploits have also risen. For instance, as of 2021, a zero-day allowing access to a target’s WhatsApp on Android and message content could cost between $1.7 million and $8 million.

WhatsApp has been a prominent target for government hackers, often involved in using zero-days. In 2019, researchers uncovered NSO Group using a zero-day to target WhatsApp users. WhatsApp sued NSO Group for allegedly facilitating abuse of its platform.

In 2021, a company sold a “zero-click RCE” in WhatsApp for around $1.7 million, allowing remote code execution without any interaction from the target. It took advantage of a flaw in the image rendering library and worked on Android versions 9 to 11.

The specific value of targeting WhatsApp lies in the ability to access a target’s chats without compromising the entire phone. However, WhatsApp exploits can also be part of a chain to compromise the victim’s device further.