Security | What HR needs to know about the WhatsApp hack

Yesterday, popular messaging app WhatsApp revealed that a major security breach allowed hackers to install spyware on users’ phones by simply calling them.

The spyware can trawl through calls, texts and other data, activating the phone’s camera and microphone and performing other malicious activities, according to reports.

For employers, this news needs to be taken seriously. A recent study by Skeakap revealed that 53% of global frontline workers use WhatsApp and other messaging apps to discuss work-related matters with one in ten worried that, due to this usage, sensitive data could be left exposed.

Yet, HR is often in the dark with regards to how staff communicate. 16% of those using WhatsApp, or similar applications, for work admit that their HR departments are not aware of such usage.