iWorld
Facebook appoints Siddharth Banerjee as director-global sales organisation
MUMBAI: Siddharth Banerjee, the ex- Vodafone EVP marketing, has moved on from the organisation and has joined Facebook India as director—global sales organisation.
His role includes partnering with businesses to help them to achieve strong business outcomes by leading the verticals, agency relationships and solutioning teams for Facebook India. Banerjee comes with an experience of 19 years in marketing and sales.
He initiated his career as the regional sales manager at Reckitt Benckiser and served the company for two years. His next move was at General Mills as the area sales manager. After working with the organisation for a year, he joined Unilever in 2003. He was appointed there as the area sales manager and after the span of two years he was elevated as the national marketing manager. Banerjee spearheaded many caps like regional marketing manager, global category director and country marketing director. After his 12 years of stint with Unilever, he joined Vodafone.
iWorld
Meta warns 200 users after fake Whatsapp spyware attack
Italy-targeted campaign used unofficial app to deploy surveillance spyware.
MUMBAI: It looked like a message, but it behaved like a mole. Meta has warned around 200 users most of them in Italy after uncovering a targeted spyware campaign that weaponised a fake version of WhatsApp to infiltrate devices. The attack, first reported by Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, relied on classic social engineering with a modern twist: persuading users to download an unofficial WhatsApp clone embedded with surveillance software. The malicious application, believed to be developed by Italian firm SIO through its subsidiary ASIGINT, was designed to mimic the real app closely enough to bypass suspicion.
Meta’s security teams identified roughly 200 individuals who may have installed the compromised version, triggering immediate countermeasures. Affected users were logged out of their accounts and issued alerts warning of potential privacy breaches, with the company describing the incident as a “targeted social engineering attempt” aimed at gaining device-level access.
The malicious app was not distributed via official app stores but circulated through third-party channels, where it was presented as a legitimate WhatsApp alternative. Once installed, it reportedly allowed external operators to access sensitive data stored on the device turning a simple download into a potential surveillance gateway.
According to Techcrunch, Meta is now preparing legal action against the spyware developers to curb further misuse. The company, however, has not disclosed details about the specific individuals targeted or the extent of data compromised.
A Whatsapp spokesperson reiterated that user safety remains the top priority, particularly for those misled into installing the fake iOS application. Meanwhile, reports from La Repubblica suggest the spyware may be linked to “Spyrtacus”, a strain previously associated with Android-based attacks that could intercept calls, activate microphones and even access cameras.
The episode underscores a growing reality in the digital age, the threat is no longer just what you download, but where you download it from. As unofficial apps become increasingly convincing, the line between communication tool and covert surveillance is getting harder to spot and far easier to exploit.
