A fake WhatsApp distributed by operators
The spyware, called Spyrtacus in its own code, was hidden in an application that looked exactly like WhatsApp. And the method of distribution is quite chilling: in the context of surveys, the Italian law enforcement may ask operators to cooperate to target specific suspects. The operator then sends the targeted person what looks like an update notification, which redirects them to what appears to be a classic WhatsApp update. Except that the installed application is not official and has never been through the Play Store or the App Store.
What Spyrtacus could recover
Once installed, the malware had access to quite a few things. It could recover text messages, chat history, call logs, and also activate the phone’s microphone and camera to record live audio and video. Android devices like iPhones were targeted. SIO, the company behind the software, operates through its subsidiary Asigint and develops surveillance tools for Italian law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
The second case in a year for WhatsApp in Italy
Meta disconnected the victims’ accounts, warned them and asked them to delete the fake application and reinstall the official version. The company also plans to send a formal notice to SIO. And this is the second time in a little over a year that WhatsApp has pointed the finger at a spyware publisher active in Italy. At the beginning of 2025, the messaging system had alerted around a hundred users, including journalists and activists, targeted by Paragon Solutions and its Graphite software, used by the Italian intelligence services.
What do we say about it?
It’s still strange that it’s the operators themselves who serve as the postman to distribute the spyware to suspects. The fact that the police can use an operator to send a false update link to one of its subscribers is a mechanism that ask real questions. Well, on the other hand, we must recognize that Meta reacted quickly by identifying the victims and disconnecting them. Two cases of this type in Italy in one year are starting to happen, and we wonder how many other tools of the same type are circulating without anyone noticing.
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