Hackers exploit ‘Security flaw’ in iOS App to hack WeChat

WeChat hacked through ‘security flaw’ in iOS App, no user data or money stolen

The popular messaging app, WeChat, which has over 600 million users was hacked through a security flaw said Tencent on Friday. However, it has been patched since then.
After a preliminary investigation, the company said that no user information or money held in Tenpay ewallets was stolen. Users in China use Tenpay to purchase goods and services from right inside the app.

Tencent in a blog post wrote, “A security flaw was recently discovered affecting iOS users only on WeChat version 6.2.5. This flaw, based on an external hack attempt, has been repaired and will not affect users who install or upgrade WeChat version 6.2.6 or greater, currently available on the iOS App Store.”
It provided some “important points about the situation,” which are given below:

The flaw, described in recent media reports, only affects WeChat v6.2.5 for iOS. Newer versions of WeChat (versions 6.2.6 or greater) are not affected.
A preliminary investigation into the flaw has revealed that there has been no theft of users’ information or money, but the WeChat team will continue to closely monitor the situation.
The WeChat tech team has extensive experience combating attempts to hack our systems. Once the security flaw was discovered, the team immediately took steps to secure against any theft of user information and reported the incident to relevant law enforcement.
Users who encounter any issues can contact the team by leaving feedback in the “WeChat Team” WeChat account.

The British police during the end of August had cautioned regarding a scam on WeChat that tried to fool users into buying online shopping credits or purchasing gift cards in exchange for offline sexual services.

It is troubling to know that there is no scarcity of posts and videos online about how to hack WeChat accounts.

Last month, CNBC had reported that mobile messaging apps including WeChat were being used for malicious intentions that was letting hackers to “steal sensitive information and send it back to a remote server.”