The data of 3.2 million WhatsApp users in Belgium has been put up for sale on the Dark Web, posing a serious risk to the privacy and security of users. The leak of this information, including phone numbers and user IDs, could lead to an increase in phishing attacks and the takeover of WhatsApp accounts. It is not yet known whether the leak also affects users from other countries.

Belgian platform Safeonweb, managed by the Cybersecurity Center, warned of the consequences of the incident, emphasizing that detecting the sellers will be difficult due to the cryptocurrency payment. The data could be used not only for fraud and intrusive marketing, but also to impersonate genuine users.

Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, has not yet issued an official statement, but reports suggest that the leak is not the result of a direct cyberattack on the company's servers. It is possible that the data comes from previous attacks, such as the one involving 2.9 billion identifiers stolen and sold in early August.

Source: ithardware.pl