'No evidence of data leak': WhatsApp denies data breach of 500 million users

Whatsapp`s parent company Meta has not yet replied to this update.

WhatsApp Data Breach: Instant messaging app WhatsApp today denied any data leak from its servers. WhatsApp said that the report about the data leak is based on unsubstantiated screenshots. WhatsApp's claim came after multiple platforms reported that data of around 500 million WhatsApp users have allegedly been leaked and may be up for sale. Reacting to this, a WhatsApp spokesperson said, "The claim written on Cybernews is based on unsubstantiated screenshots. There is no evidence of a ‘data leak’ from WhatsApp."

Earlier, reports suggested that WhatsApp, which is considered a secure platform due to its end-to-end encryption feature, has allegedly had a data leak that compromises almost 500 million users.

Mashable India, a digital media platform, has reported that according to a recent allegation from Cybernews, someone managed to hack WhatsApp and acquired the personal information of almost 500 million users, which is now purportedly for sale.

Allegedly, an actor advertised the sale of over 487 million WhatsApp users` personal information, including their cell numbers on a hacker site. The listing states that the user data comprises 32 million US users and comes from 84 other nations including Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, France, and Turkey.

The stolen phone numbers can be used for impersonation, phishing, and other fraudulent operations. Whatsapp`s parent company Meta has not yet replied to this update.

As per Mashable India, the WhatsApp user database from the US is being sold for USD 7,000 which is much higher when compared to rates of user data from the UK and Germany which costs USD 2,500 and USD 2,000, respectively. 

(With ANI inputs)