Ex-WhatsApp cybersecurity executive says Meta endangered billions of users in new suit

According to The Guardian, a former top cybersecurity executive at WhatsApp filed a lawsuit alleging that Meta disregarded internal flaws in the app’s digital defenses and exposed billions of users. The complainant says the company systematically violated cybersecurity regulations and retaliated against him for reporting the failures.

Attaullah Baig, who served as the head of security for WhatsApp from 2021 to 2025, claims about 1,500 engineers had unrestricted access to user data without proper oversight, potentially violating a US government order that imposed a $5bn penalty on the company in 2020. He also alleges the company failed to remedy the hacking and takeover of more than 100,000 accounts each day, ignoring his pleas and proposed fixes and prioritising user growth.

The lawsuit, filed in a US federal court in San Francisco, alleges Meta failed to implement basic cybersecurity measures, including adequate data handling and breach detection capabilities.