Attaullah Baig, WhatsApp’s former Indian American head of security, has sued the social media company over allegations that its WhatsApp messaging service contained “systemic cybersecurity failures” that potentially compromise user privacy.

Baig alleged that Meta retaliated against him after he notified leaders, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, of security issues at the messaging app, CNBC reported.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims that after joining WhatsApp in 2021, Baig found security flaws that violated federal securities laws and Meta’s legal obligations related to a 2020 privacy settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

During a test conducted with Meta’s central security team, Baig alleged he “discovered that approximately 1,500 WhatsApp engineers had unrestricted access to user data, including sensitive personal information” and that the employees “could move or steal such data without detection or audit trail.”

A Meta spokesperson disputed Baig’s allegations in a statement, and downplayed his role and ranking at the company.

“Sadly this is a familiar playbook in which a former employee is dismissed for poor performance and then goes public with distorted claims that misrepresent the ongoing hard work of our team,” the spokesperson wrote. “Security is an adversarial space, and we pride ourselves in building on our strong record of protecting people’s privacy.”

Baig is being represented by the whistle blower...

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