WhatsApp, the popular messaging app from Meta, has revealed that about 100 journalists and civil society members using its platform were targeted by an Israeli spyware campaign.

The social messaging company told Guardian UK that the people targeted had the virus enter their devices through a malicious PDF they got from WhatsApp group chats they were added to.

WhatsApp said it had contacted Paragon Solutions, the manufacturer of the spyware, to stop the attack.

It also alerted the victims, stating with confidence that they were targeted and likely compromised.

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WhatsApp explained that it could not share the location of the victims or the duration of the attack on their devices yet.

“WhatsApp has disrupted a spyware campaign by Paragon that targeted a number of users including journalists and members of civil society. We’ve reached out directly to people who we believe were affected. This is the latest example of why spyware companies must be held accountable for their unlawful actions. WhatsApp will continue to protect people’s ability to communicate privately,” WhatsApp stated.

Across the world, journalists continue to face different kinds of threats in the course of their job.

In Nigeria alone, at least 1,034 Nigerian journalists were detained between 1986 and 2023. This is also as digital surveillance and cyber espionage become frequent methods employed by state and non-state actors against journalists.