WhatsApp has just issued a warning about a targeted cyber espionage campaign, in which about 200 users were tricked into installing fake applications to monitor personal activities.
According to information from Meta Platforms (the parent company of WhatsApp), this campaign is backed by ASIGINT, a subsidiary of SIO (a company operating in the field of surveillance and network intelligence technology) based in northern Italy.
Specifically, the subjects used sophisticated fraud tricks to lure users to download fake "WhatsApp" versions.
This application is infected with malware, allowing data to be collected and victims to be tracked without being detected. WhatsApp said this is a very specific targeting campaign, with most of the victims identified as living in Italy, but their identities are not disclosed.
According to experts, the form of counterfeiting popular applications such as WhatsApp is increasing, because users are easily losing vigilance against unofficial links or installation files. Once malicious code is installed, the device may be illegally accessed to messages, contacts or sensitive data.
Notably, this is the second time in 15 months that Meta has publicly detected and prevented cyber espionage activities in Italy. Previously, a major case related to Paragon's spyware was exposed in early 2025, forcing Italy to end cooperation with this business.
Currently, SIO has not issued an official response, but the incident continues to raise concerns about the abuse of surveillance technology, and at the same time raises the requirement to tighten management of spyware providers globally.
