WhatsApp or more to the point, "What's Up?"

Do you use WhatsApp to communicate with friends, family or groups? If so, the following will no doubt be of interest to you.

A newly-discovered WhatsApp bug allows hackers to infiltrate and message your group chats and private conversations. The flaw means attackers can send and quote messages on behalf of someone else. If combined with other existing glitches, the vulnerability could allow cyber criminals to impersonate you and send fake messages to your friends and family, security experts have warned. Researchers who unearthed the bug believe it is of the 'utmost importance WhatsApp fixes the problem – as it could be used to quickly spread misinformation.

The Facebook-owned company says it is aware of the flaw but has no plans to patch the problem as the exploited vulnerability forms a core part of the app's design.

First discovered by Israeli cybersecurity group CheckPoint Research, the flaw is incredibly complex and involves a gap within the app's encryption algorithms. Writing on their website the team said the vulnerability could make it possible for a hacker 'to intercept and manipulate messages sent by those in a group or private conversation' as well as 'create and spread misinformation'. Hackers could use the bug to alter the text sent in someone else's reply to a group chat, essentially 'putting words in their mouth', the group said.