WhatsApp has warned about 200 users, mostly in Italy, who were tricked into installing a malicious fake version of its iPhone app. The company accuses Italian spyware maker SIO of creating this fake app. WhatsApp has logged the affected users out, alerted them to the privacy risks, and urged them to install the official app. The company is also sending a legal demand to SIO to stop this activity. This follows previous reports of SIO distributing malicious Android apps containing its Spyrtacus spyware. Using fake apps is a known surveillance tactic in Italy. Last year, WhatsApp alerted around 90 users targeted by spyware from a different maker, Paragon Solutions, which led to a major scandal and Paragon cutting ties with Italian agencies.
