Damascus
The National Information Technology Authority, affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Telecommunications, issued an urgent warning about the increasing number of hacking attacks targeting users of modified WhatsApp applications, in addition to Windows systems. This warning came after receiving numerous reports from users whose accounts had been hacked.
According to official statements, Engineer Jihad Alala, Director of the Information Security Center, revealed that the attacks focused primarily on users of modified versions of WhatsApp, such as GB WhatsApp and WhatsApp Plus, which contain serious security vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain full access to users’ conversations, photos, and banking data.
Separately, Microsoft revealed a new security vulnerability (CVE-2025-29809) affecting Windows 10, 11, and Windows Server. This vulnerability allows attackers to steal login credentials and use them to access other systems within the network.
The authority issued a set of urgent security recommendations, most notably:
- Delete any modified versions of WhatsApp and rely only on the official version.
- Enable two-step verification.
- Update Windows systems immediately.
- Avoid clicking on suspicious links.
- Do not use public Wi-Fi networks to access important accounts.
- This warning comes amid increasing security threats targeting users in Syria. It is difficult to accurately estimate the number of cases due to the scattered nature of the reports and the sensitivity of the affected data.
