How to call israel from us on whatsapp

How to make a free international call using WhatsApp

Twenty years ago, if you wanted to make an international phone call, you would have to use a landline phone and pay a lot of money for the privilege. But with the internet, those days are long gone. With messaging apps like WhatsApp, you can now make international calls all for the cost of the internet data it consumes. Here’s how to make a free international call on WhatsApp and even reduce the internet data that call will consume.

Read more: How to use WhatsApp: A step-by-step beginner’s guide

QUICK ANSWER

To make a WhatsApp call, select the contact you want to call. Then choose either the phone icon or the video icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen. WhatsApp will ask for access to the camera and microphone.

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How to make a free international call on WhatsApp (Android and iOS)
How to make a free international call on WhatsApp (desktop app)

How to make a free international call on WhatsApp (Android and iOS)

To make a call on the WhatsApp mobile app, go to the contact you wish to call. In the top right-hand corner, you’ll see icons for phone and video. Tap on the one you want to use. If this is the first time you’re making such a call, your phone will ask permission to access and use your camera and microphone.

The call will then start ringing. You can switch between audio and video calling at any time by tapping the video and audio icons. You can also mute yourself using the microphone icon.

How to make a free international call on WhatsApp (desktop app)

First, we should clarify that this is for the desktop app, not the web app. WhatsApp Web does not provide a call feature.

On the desktop app, go to the contact you want to call. In the top right-hand corner, you’ll see phone and video icons. Click on the one you want to use. If this is the first time you’re using the call function, your computer will ask you for camera and microphone access.

Once you click either the phone icon or video icon, it will ring. Even if you chose the phone icon, you could easily switch to a video call by clicking the video icon on the far left. Clicking the microphone button will mute you.

FAQs

Currently, WhatsApp Web does not have phone and video calls baked in.

If the person you’re calling is already in your phone’s contact list, then they’ll also show up on WhatsApp. If you don’t wish to put them in your phone’s contact book, we have a handy article on circumventing that requirement.

On the mobile app, go to Settings > Storage and Data. Toggle the option Use Less Data for Calls. This will lower the amount of data taken from your internet plan when you make WhatsApp phone calls. However, the downside is that the call quality may suffer slightly.

Yes. For WhatsApp to know the origin of the country of the person you’re calling, it needs the country’s dialing code. If you don’t know the country code, you can look it up here. Note that instead of the 0 at the start of the dialing code, you must instead type a +. You can accomplish this by holding down the 0 key on a mobile device.

WhatsApp calls are free of charge. The amount of data deducted from your monthly internet data plan is the only real “cost.” This is not an issue if you have an unlimited data plan.

Want to make international WhatsApp calls? Here's all you need to know

International calls can be costly, so if you have any close friends or family members abroad, you are already one of them who spends a lot to hear the voices of people you miss often. Here, WhatsApp comes to the rescue because it allows us to make voice and video calls over the internet for absolutely free, but it also comes with a twist. Let’s have a look at all that you need to know to make the most of the WhatsApp international calls.

Want to make international WhatsApp calls? Here’s all you need to know

With over 2.0 billion monthly users around the world, WhatsApp, the most used messenger app, connects us to anyone and everyone who uses the app from anywhere in this world. One needs to have an active internet connection (Wi-Fi/mobile data) in order to use WhatsApp.

How to make a WhatsApp voice call

Make sure you are connected to the internet through wi-fi or mobile data. Open WhatsApp > Tap on the contact thread or open it from the Search menu > Tap the Call button. Yes, it’s that simple to make a voice/video call to your friend who is over 1000 miles away from you.

Related: How to create a WhatsApp chat with yourself

How to make a WhatsApp video call

Making a video call through WhatsApp is similar to making a voice call. Open WhatsApp > Select the contact and open it > Tap the Video button on the top.

You need to have a good internet connection to make a video call. Though, if you are not impressed with the quality of WhatsApp’s video calls, you may take a look at Google Duo.

How to make a WhatsApp Group call

While you are allowed to make video and voice calls through WhatsApp, there is one more important feature which WhatsApp supports. i.e., Group/conference call. Create a group or open the group you are already in > Click the Phone+ icon on the top right of the group > Add the contacts one by one > Click the voice call or video call button. Group calls can have a maximum of four people, so you can add as many as three people into the call.

Related: How to save notes on WhatsApp

Can you make a WhatsApp call to anyone in the world

Here comes the hard truth. WhatsApp allows you to call anyone in the world but not to those living in China, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and the UAE due to privacy, security and local reasons of the respective country.

Some of the common reasons are as follows; China and UAE have their own personal reason like the promotion of their own telecommunication service providers and strong firewall encryption features which restricts VoIP feature. Cuba, Iran, and Syria have their own security and privacy concerns when it comes to how WhatsApp uses data.

Related: How to schedule a WhatsApp message

Can you make WhatsApp calls despite the ban

These restrictions don’t mean a full ban on WhatsApp, as only calls are not allowed. These countries ban a variety of VoIP apps and allow fewer apps to promote the growth of local companies. The Government of these countries may allow WhatsApp calls in the future but nothing is set in stone.

However, with the use of VPN, you can work your way around it. The user residing in the country where it is banned has to connect to an IP address of the country where WhatsApp not banned. Here’s how: Download a VPN app from Play Store, open it, and then select any of the countries where WhatsApp calling is not banned. Tap the Home button on your phone to leave the VPN app running in the background, and then open WhatsApp. Make a call now, it should work.

Do you need any help with making international calls using WhatsApp? Let us know in the comments bow below.

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phone numbers in israel whatsapp. How to call Israel from Russia

There are situations in life when you need to call urgently, but how? If this is a mobile phone of the country where you live, everything seems to be clear. If this is a landline phone, then, knowing the code of any city in the country, you can get through to the subscriber. As for dialing to a subscriber in another country, there are certain rules here. How to dial to Israel?

In order to reach a subscriber who is in Israel from a landline phone, you first need to dial the international code with access to the international line of the country you are calling. For calls to you need to dial international - 972, then the code of the settlement where the subscriber is currently located, and the subscriber's number directly are dialed.

For example, in order to call acquaintances or friends, relatives in Jerusalem, respectively, dial the first three digits 810, then the international code of Israel 972, then the city code of Jerusalem - 2 and then the subscriber's number.

To call to Israel on a cell phone in any city in the country, you need to dial the international code + 972, then the code of the locality and the subscriber's number. For example, to dial the resort Pitah-Tikva on a mobile phone, you need to dial the first three digits + 972. then the area code for Pitah-Tikva, and the telephone number. If both the person who is calling and the subscriber who is being called are within the same district in Israel or the city, then the code in front of the subscriber's number is not dialed.

How to call Israel cheaper without spending extra money? Today, in the era of information technology, it is very easy to call any country in the world, and most importantly, it is very cheap via Skype. This is a specially installed program on a personal computer that allows you to communicate with any city and almost any country, moreover, if a video camera is installed on the computer, you can also have video conversations with the subscriber, that is, a video image is displayed online.

How to call Israel, or how to call Israel? In order to reach a subscriber who is in Israel, even in the same city from where the call will be made, whether it be a landline phone or a payphone, you need to dial the telephone subscriber's number without dialing the city code. If you need to call another city in Israel, you must first dial the area code, and only then dial the phone number of the subscriber. To call in Israel from a mobile phone, the area code must be dialed in any case.

If the number of the person you are calling starts with numbers that differ from the code of his city, then the call is made to a mobile phone, then you need to dial the subscriber's area code, that is, the code of the city where he is located and the mobile phone number.

Calls to Israel. From a hotel room, in order to call a subscriber in Israel, you need to dial an additional hotel code. But, you need to know that calls from hotel rooms are very expensive, so it's easier and cheaper to call from a payphone located nearby. Fortunately, in Israel, payphones on the streets are not uncommon and are located in almost every quarter.

In order to make a call from Israel to any other country in the world, you need to use the code - 012. But there are also other codes - 013, 014 and 015. To call, for example, to any country of the former CIS, it is better to use the code 012, it's more convenient. Here is an example of the correct dialing to the Russian Federation - 012 + 7 + the code of the city where we are trying to get through, and the subscriber's phone number is dialed last. If you call from Israel to Moscow, then the dialing of numbers is made by the following code 012 + Russia code +7 then Moscow code 495 and the telephone number of the subscriber in Moscow. You need to call to St. Petersburg by dialing such a combination of numbers - 012, then the code of Russia +7, then the code of St. Petersburg +812, and at the end the telephone subscriber's number. A call to Kiev, for example, will look different, as the set of numbers will change: the first three digits are the international code 012, then the code of Ukraine is +38, the city code of Kiev is 044, and then the number of the Kiev subscriber. To call Odessa from Israel, you need to dial 012, then the code of Ukraine +38. then the Odessa area code 0482 and the number of the subscriber living in Odessa. Calls to Belarus will look like this in digital designation - 012 without changes, then the code of Belarus - 375, the code of the Belarusian city, and the subscriber's number.

How to call Israel? The dialing code for the city of Jerusalem is +972 2, where +972 is the dialing code for Israel.

How to call Israel to Jerusalem from Ukraine, including a mobile phone? If you call from a mobile phone, you should dial +972 2 and the subscriber's number, from a landline number from Ukraine to Israel, dial a combination of numbers 0, wait for a beep, then 0972 2 and the subscriber's number.

Pay attention - when dialing a number, the interval between digits should not exceed 5 seconds in time. We must also remember that temporary / and Russia are different. Therefore, if you make calls to Israel, for example, to business partners, you must take this into account so that the time of your phone call is correct.

Many residents of Russia are interested in the question of how to call Israel. Someone would like to call friends, and someone needs to call for work. Of course, it's easy to call from Russia. There are actually several options. If you have a landline phone at hand, then you need to do the following. Dial 8 followed by 10 and a combination of 972 and the area code, and the number of the subscriber you need. The second option is for those who want to call exclusively from a mobile phone. You need to dial plus 9 on your mobile72, then the area code and the subscriber's number. For example, to call Petah Tikva, you need to dial the area code with the number three.

In order to call Israel from our country - Russia, you need to know the code.

For this country it is (972). So, when dialing on a landline phone, the number will be:

dial eight, then 10 and the code that I wrote -972. Then you need to dial the code for the city (for example, 2) and only then the phone number of a person in Israel.

I also found an explanation:

To call Israel, you need to dial the following combination of numbers on your landline phone: 8-10-972-city code-telephone number. If you call from a mobile phone, then the area code is not needed there, the mobile operator code is needed.

Israel code 972. If necessary, before the code, dial + or 8. Landline codes: 02-, 03-, 04-, 08-, 09-, 072-, 073-, 074-, 077-. Cell phone codes 050-, 052-, 053-, 054-, 057-, 058-. Now several new mobile operators have entered the market, perhaps someone missed the code. In any case, after dialing the country code, dial the phone code (without zero), and then the seven-digit phone number.

If you intend to call Israel from a landline, dial the numbers as follows:

If you are calling from a mobile phone, dial +972 first, then the phone number.

You need to call with the country code of Israel - all numbers start with + 972. The next digit or two digits is the area code. For example:

3 - Tel Aviv;

2 - Jerusalem;

8 - Elat.

Well, the last digits are the phone number of the person you are going to call.

Sometimes in life it becomes necessary to make a call from Russia to Israel. This can be done in several ways. It all depends on which phone (home, cell) to which (landline, mobile) you need to call.

If you need to call an Israeli mobile phone from a Russian cell phone, then dial +972, then the mobile operator code and number.

If you need to make a call from a landline phone in Russia to a mobile phone in Israel, then you should dial the number 8, then after the beep, dial 10, then the Israeli code itself is 972, and a mobile phone number.

But if you need to call from a landline phone in Russia to a landline Israeli number, then this is also quite simple. To do this, again, dial 8, wait for a beep and press 10, then dial the Israel code 972, then the area code, and, finally, the city number itself.

To call a landline number in Israel from the Russian Federation from a landline phone:

8 - wait for a beep - 10 - 972 - code of the desired city - phone number.

From mobile to mobile:

972 and cell number.

To Israeli mobile from a landline from Russia:

8 - wait for a beep - 10 - 972 - mobile number.

Yes, just call from a landline to Israel from Russia.

Dial eight (8), hear the beep, then press one and zero- (10) and the code is 972 for Israel. Then dial the area code in Israel and then the phone number.

From a mobile phone, you need to dial a little differently.

In the same place, the number eight is not dialed, so immediately 972 and the code.

The state code of Israel is 972. If you are calling from your landline phone in Russia to a mobile phone in Israel, then you should dial 8, then 10, then 972, then the subscriber's mobile phone number, while you do not need to dial 0 after 972.

To call Israel from another country from a landline , you need to dial the international call prefix, Israel code -972, city code (settlement) and subscriber number.

For example, to call from Moscow to Jerusalem, dial: 8 10 + 972 + 2 + (subscriber's number).

To call any city in Israel from a cell phone , you need to dial +972, then the code and number of the subscriber.

For example, to call Petah Tikva by cell phone, you need to dial: +972 + 3 + subscriber number.

If you are calling within the same district (city) of Israel, you do not need to dial the code before the subscriber's number.

How to call Israel cheaper

In order not to pay extra money, it is better to call on Skype.

How to call in Israel

For calls to a subscriber located in the same city , from where you are calling from a landline phone or , dial the subscriber's number immediately, without the area code.

For calls to other cities For Israel, dial the area code followed by the phone number.

For calls from a cell phone the area code is dialed in any case.

If your subscriber's number begins with digits other than his city codes, then you are calling to a cell phone, respectively, you need to dial the city code and the subscriber's cell phone number.

When calling from a hotel room, dial the additional code of the hotel, however, calls from the hotel are expensive, it is better to call from the nearest .

How to call from Israel

To call from Israel to another country, use the code - 012. You can use other codes: 013, 014, 015, but it is more convenient to call in the CIS using the code 012.

Russia 012 + 7 + code city + subscriber number

Moscow 012 + 7 + 495 + subscriber number,

St. Petersburg 012 + 7 + 812 + subscriber number,

Pyatigorsk 012 + 7 + 8793 + subscriber number,

Ukraine 012 + 38 + area code + subscriber number

Kyiv 012 +38 + 044 + subscriber number,

Odessa 012 + 38 + 0482 + subscriber number.

Belarus 012 + 375 + area code + subscriber number,

Minsk 012 + 375 + 17 + subscriber number

Carried out by several companies - Kavei Zahav 012 Smile, Hot, Bezeq, and 013 NetVision. As for telephone mobile communications in Israel, mobile communications are also represented by several companies such as Celcom, Pelefon, Amigo, Orange, Hot Mobile and others. That is, the Israelis can choose from a whole list of mobile communication companies the one that will be more profitable for each client individually.

I must say that all telephone numbers in Israel are seven-digit, but have prefixes corresponding to each. So the prefix of Jerusalem and its environs is 02, and the telephone prefix of the center of Israel - the Gush Dan region - 03, the Bezek company serves the center of the country, the north of Israel has a telephone prefix - 04, and the south - 08.

As for mobile communications, the codes in Israel of mobile numbers differ as follows: the Pelephone cell company has the code 05, the numbers of the Cellcom cell company begin with numbers - 052, the Hot Mobile cell company has the code - 053, as for the Orange cell company, then its numbers start with the prefix 054, Rami Levy mobile phone numbers start with 055-66, Amigo mobile phone numbers start with 057, Golan Telecom cell phone company code is 058, Hot cell phone numbers start with 077.

But, lately, for 4 years now in Israel it is possible to switch from one telephone company to another telephone company, and, most importantly, with the preservation of the number. Therefore, there is no clear division and unambiguous correspondence between the telephone codes of Israel and the serving telephone company.

On the territory of Palestine, Israel has its own cellular communication company - Paltel, which provides services to citizens living in the territory of the Palestinian Authority. Paltel phone numbers are seven digits and Palestinian numbers start with the prefix 059.

Israeli emergency telephone numbers, as well as emergency telephone numbers in Ukraine and Russia, are short - three digits. To call the Israeli police, you need to dial 100, to dial an ambulance - 101, the fire department in Israel - 102, and the phone number of the Israeli Electric Corporation - 103, the municipality of any city in Israel can be called 106, and the emergency call Israeli Ministry of Social Services - 118.

Communication in Israel is developed at a very good level, you can get through to any city in Israel, as well as outside the country, from any Israeli phone. It should be added that the code for Israel is 972. In order to call this country, you need to go to 8, then dial 10, the country code of Israel is 972, and then you should dial the code of the city you are trying to call and directly the number of the desired subscriber.

From Israel, you can get through to any city in the country, as well as outside the state - you can even go abroad from a pay phone that stands on the streets of Israel and works by telecards. Telecards are sold at any post office in Israel. A telecard is a magnetic card. The magnetic card is sold for 10,20,30,50 and 120 shekels. The cost of calls within Israel, as well as outside Israel, is much cheaper from 20-00 to 08-00 in the morning.

There are in Israel in different stores and pay phones that work on coins. The tariff in such pay phones is per minute, and therefore, before calling, you need to familiarize yourself with the prices. The rates vary from phone company to phone, although all companies offer a discounted rate. Reduced fare time - from 20-00 to 08-00. You need to know that calls from hotel rooms are very expensive, much more expensive than from a pay phone. Israel city codes: Jerusalem code - 02, Tel Aviv city code in Israel and Jaffa - 03, Haifa and Acre code - 04, and in the Galilee, Golan Heights and Nazareth code - 06, on the coast of Tel Aviv, in the resort city of Eilat and in the area of the Negev desert, the code is 08, on the northern coast of Tel Aviv, the code is 09.

For travelers, it is simply necessary to know the most necessary telephone numbers in the country where the holiday takes place. In Israel, the help desk number is 106 and the tourist information desk in Jerusalem is 625-55-44, or you can call 628-03-82. If you are interested in the city information service in Jerusalem, then the phone numbers are 106 or 531-46-004. You can get information by calling 146, and a certificate of Israeli city codes or phone numbers can be obtained by calling 114, and you can call from any pay phone free of charge.

The Israel Meteorological Service phone number in Jerusalem is 966-88-55. You can call the information service of Ben Gurion International Airport by phone, having previously dialed the city code in Israel, in this case, Tel Aviv 03 and the phone number 972-33-44, you can get information in Russian by calling 972-33-66.

Mobile communication in Israel is very well developed, there is coverage throughout the country, and even in the Negev desert.

How to call from a mobile or landline phone to a locality in Israel from Russia, Ukraine?

As mentioned above, the code for Israel is 972.

In order to call to Israel in any locality of the country, you need to dial the country code Israel 972, then the code of the city of Israel or locality, and the last step is the subscriber's number. For example, a set of numbers to Jerusalem from Moscow looks like this: 8 10 + 972 + 2 + the number of the required subscriber.

To call from a mobile phone to Israel, you need to dial the same Israeli code - 972, then the area code in Israel from Russia and the number of the desired subscriber. For example, a call to the Israeli city of Petah Tikva on a mobile phone should be dialed like this: +972+3+ desired subscriber.

If calls are made within a city or area in Israel, the area code does not need to be dialed before dialing the subscriber.

How to make a call from Ukraine to Israel? Everything is also quite simple. Let's say we need to call from a landline phone, for this we dial 0 0 972, then we dial the city code of Israel from Ukraine, well, the phone number of the subscriber to whom the call is being made.

If it is necessary, for example, to call from a mobile phone from Ukraine to Israel, then dial +972, then the area code and the phone number itself.

Cybercrime: Internet and Mass Media: Lenta.ru

The world's most popular and widespread instant messenger WhatsApp has become one of the most dangerous applications for users in recent months. This is not the first time experts have accused the service of selling data and violating the secrecy of correspondence, but 2019 has become a particularly scandalous year for WhatsApp. Unknown criminals, having taken possession of a program for security forces and intelligence officers, spied on users, listened to their conversations, read correspondence, and even turned on live video broadcasts from the lives of victims. The editor of Lenta.ru figured out what everyone who uses WhatsApp should be afraid of.

One phone call

In April 2019, Faustin Rukundo, a resident of the British city of Leeds, received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number. Answering the call, he did not hear anything, the caller quickly dropped the call. Rukundo tried to call back and find out what was the matter, but did not get through.

This seemed strange to him: he googled the mobile number from which they called him, but found out only that the code refers to a Swedish provider. After some time, the calls were repeated, they called from other unknown numbers. Rukundo became worried (as a refugee, he reacted nervously to strange situations because he was afraid for his family) and changed his phone. Literally a few hours later, the callers overtook him again, and again hung up when he tried to speak to them.

“Whenever I called back, no one answered. I realized that something was wrong when I began to notice that files were disappearing from the phone, ”said Rukundo. It turned out that his colleagues from the National Congress of Rwanda (an opposition group to the local government) also received strange calls from the same numbers. Rukundo realized what had happened only a month later, when reports appeared in the media about the hack through the messenger. “I changed my phone and realized my mistake. They followed my number and installed spyware on every new device, calling the same number,” he explained.

Later it turned out that at least 1.4 thousand people became victims of the attack of intruders (most likely there are many more). The investigation that followed a series of incidents showed that human rights activists, oppositionists, diplomats, high-ranking officials and journalists from more than 20 countries of the world were the real targets of the telephone attacks.

Large-scale espionage

In May 2019, it became known that more than 1.5 billion WhatsApp users could become victims of hackers. Cybercriminals took advantage of the vulnerability of the CVE-2019 service-3568, which allowed them to inject spyware remotely. The malicious code, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, was transmitted via an incoming call: the attackers called the victims via the messenger, and the program was automatically embedded on the device. It was suitable for both iOS and Android gadgets, and infection occurred even if the user did not respond. Call data, as a rule, immediately disappeared from the call log.

A few minutes after a missed call, the phone could transmit literally everything to attackers: encrypted data, screen images, private messages and location, as well as turn on the camera and microphone at their command, effectively arranging a live broadcast without the knowledge of the owner. This is exactly how the flagship product of the NSO Group operated - the Pegasus program, which was created by the developers for the needs of intelligence officers.

Between January 2018 and May 2019, NSO Group created WhatsApp accounts using phone numbers registered in various countries, including Cyprus, Israel, Brazil, Indonesia, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The malicious code disguised itself as call parameters, which allowed the attackers to bypass the security of the messenger, and the dangerous software looked like it came from the servers of WhatsApp itself.

Photo: Eloy Alonso / Reuters

Representatives of the company claimed that such a product is intended only for intelligence agencies and other government officials who need to fight terrorism and crime. Thanks to this technology, a relatively small Israeli company has earned a market valuation of one billion dollars. It is known that a month before the attack was discovered, a company representative boasted to investors that Apple's security updates were unable to eliminate "vulnerabilities exploited by Pegasus." This technology is considered so powerful that its sale is regulated by the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The sale on behalf of the state or the direct use of such serious programs could play into the hands of many officials and the military. However, the local government has not publicly said anything that could hint at its special relationship with the NSO Group.

Attack of the Clones

While WhatsApp worked to fix the vulnerability, unknown individuals continued to attack their victims. A day before the release of the updated version, a strange incoming call came to the phone of an unnamed British human rights lawyer. Researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab for Human Rights and Global Security attributed the case to the same series of hacks. According to them, in that case, it failed: “We had a strong suspicion that this person’s phone could be the target of an attack, so we observed the alleged attack and made sure that it did not lead to infection. We believe that the measures taken by WhatsApp over the past few days have prevented the attacks from being successful,” said Citizen Lab spokesman John Scott-Railton. The unnamed lawyer later helped a group of colleagues, including several Mexican journalists and activists, as well as a Saudi dissident living in Canada, sue the NSO Group. In his opinion, the manufacturing company is responsible for the abuse of its product.

Another known hack victim is an Amnesty International employee. This organization has a lot of evidence that the developer Pegasus is associated with attacks on human rights defenders, and the program is sold to literally everyone in a row, which threatens the rights and safety of people around the world. “NSO Group sells its products to governments known for egregious human rights violations, providing them with the tools to track down activists and critics. The attack on Amnesty International was the last straw,” said Danna Ingleton, deputy director of Amnesty Tech. The organization supported the request to cancel the export license of the NSO Group - this issue should be dealt with by the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Photo: Milos Ruml / CTK / Globallookpress.com

Fuel was added to the fire by a friend of journalist Jamal Khaskuji, who was killed in 2018, who said that the opposition publicist was a victim of surveillance and wiretapping precisely with the help of Pegasus, and ill-wishers led him until his last days until they dealt with him. An on-duty response came from the NSO Group that their software was not used by any of the clients to infect Khashoggi's phone, and that it is only being sold to responsible countries after careful scrutiny and approval by the Israeli government. However, the question of how legitimate such software is used to monitor dissidents or journalists, instead of pursuing the stated goals, remains open. What is known for sure is that WhatsApp was chosen as a weak point on every gadget.

Related materials:

In October, the Facebook corporation that owns the messenger sued the Israeli company in California. According to WhatsApp representatives, NSO Group and parent company Q Cyber Technologies spied on their users through dangerous programs. Facebook intends to legally ban them from accessing its platforms. This was the first precedent for the entire existence of the application. Facebook acknowledged that the creators of the code themselves did not hack the clients of their company, but they are required to be punished for the tool they created. Service called the precedent a "systematized attack" and intends to achieve strict legislative control over cyber weapons and a moratorium on such attacks.

New problem

However, the misadventures of WhatsApp users did not end there. In November 2019, Facebook employees, without attracting much attention of users, published data on the eliminated vulnerability in the messenger on the social network website. It is known that with its help hackers could install spyware on any device. To infect, it was enough for the attacker to know the victim's phone number. Experts noted that the nature of this breach, which received the identification number CVE-2019-11931, very similar to CVE-2019-3568.

According to researchers, this is a buffer overflow vulnerability: a cybercriminal sends a special MP4 file to the victim, and this leads to problems in the operation of the device, while a dangerous program — a backdoor or spyware — is silently installed on the gadget. According to Facebook employees, the problem affected all major platforms (iOS, Android and Windows), as well as the corporate version of the messenger. According to them, this vulnerability has never been used by attackers in targeted attacks.

Photo: WhatsApp

At the beginning of the year, a Reddit user revealed that he managed to bypass the security system of the messenger using the "share" function. With some coincidence and adjusting certain settings, he managed to enter WhatsApp without FaceID or TouchID. A few weeks earlier, journalists from the British edition of the Mirror revealed a simple way to restore messages deleted by the interlocutor in the messenger. In order for the archive of correspondence to be loaded in its original form, it was only necessary to uninstall the service application and then install it again. This method will work if the device has not rebooted and the chat copy has not been updated (by default, this happens once a day).

Last year, WhatsApp was at the center of a controversy over merciless lynchings in India. Then the cause of several dozen bloody murders was fake information distributed by local residents through the messenger. In India, the service is constantly used for messaging by hundreds of millions of people, and many of them massively shared with the entire contact list fake "orientations" on some kidnappers. Most often, the victims of the mob were foreigners or vagrants. Then the local government shifted responsibility for what was happening to representatives of WhatsApp, and the Indian authorities limited themselves to a series of warnings and announcements in local newspapers about the inadmissibility of such behavior. January 2019WhatsApp limited forwarding the same message to users up to five times.

Durov vs.

Pavel Durov, the creator of the rival messenger Telegram, is closely following the problems of WhatsApp. Two days after it became known that 1.5 billion WhatsApp users were at risk because of Pegasus, the businessman gave a column "Why WhatsApp will never be secure" (Why WhatsApp Will Never Be Secure). According to Durov, the administration of the service deliberately makes the messenger vulnerable so that representatives of the authorities and special services can gain access to users' correspondence and calls. He reproached Facebook for hypocrisy and greed, which is ready to sacrifice customers for its own well-being. “Every time WhatsApp has to fix a critical vulnerability in its app, a new one appears in its place. All their security problems are well suited for surveillance, they look and work like backdoors, ”Durov summed up.

Photo: Daniella Cheslow / AP