The ex-security chief of Messenger Whatsapp, Attaullah Baig, filed a lawsuit against the parent company Meta. It accuses the company of deliberately ignoring serious security and data protection gaps and thus having endangered billions of users.
Baig claims that thousands of meta and WhatsApp employees had access to sensitive data such as profile images, location information, contact lists and group affiliations. In addition, over 100,000 accounts would be hacked every day without meta taking suitable countermeasures. He has repeatedly referred to these risks – instead of remedying the situation, he was released in February several times, but he was released in February, reports the New York Times.
Baig is supported by the Whistleblower organization PSSST.ORG and a specialized law firm. He accuses Meta of violating the U.S. consumer protection authority of FTC. According to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the company imposed a billion dollar penalty in 2019 and prescribed stricter data protection measures.
Meta rejects the allegations. A WhatsApp spokesman said Baig was released because of “lack of performance”. His accusations were distorted and false the group’s “continuous efforts” in relation to security.
The lawsuit is part of a series of whistleblower devices that have been burdening Meta for years. Only recently had former employees accused the company not to protect children sufficiently on their virtual reality platforms. In 2021, the former manager Frances Haugen with internal documents showed that Facebook knowingly developed products that endangered young people.
Baig’s statements are also particularly explosive because WhatsApp stands for particularly safe communication among its three billion users – encrypted news is a central advantage of the service. However, according to Baig, even fundamental protective functions of META were blocked, including an improved process for accounting or a lock against the mass download of profile images. “Meta only treats its users as numbers in a dashboard,” said Baig in an interview. His “dream job” at WhatsApp turned into a disappointment. Now he wants the group to be held responsible for its failures.
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