Billions of users at risk: former WhatsApp manager accuses Meta of security breach

Approximately 1,500 engineers had unrestricted access to user data. All of this was without proper oversight. Such practices may violate a 2020 US government order.

UNN reports with reference to The Guardian and RFI.

Details

Former WhatsApp cybersecurity chief, Attaullah Baig, has filed a lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court, alleging that Meta systematically ignored internal digital protection flaws in the app, thereby violating cybersecurity rules.

Baig, who served as WhatsApp's head of security from 2021 to 2025, claims that approximately 1,500 engineers had unrestricted access to user data. The former top manager's lawsuit emphasizes that the parent company Meta failed to implement basic cybersecurity measures on its instant messaging platform.

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According to the 115-page complaint, the company failed to rectify the consequences of hacking and account takeovers of over 100,000 accounts daily. Requests and proposed fixes were "ignored."

Baig himself claims to have repeatedly expressed his concerns to senior company executives, including WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart and Meta head Mark Zuckerberg.

WhatsApp Vice President of Communications Carl Woog responded:

Unfortunately, this is a familiar pattern where a former employee is fired for poor performance and then publicly makes distorted claims that misrepresent the ongoing hard work of our team.

The company emphasized that Baig resigned due to poor performance, with several senior engineers independently confirming that his work was below expectations.

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