WeChat fixes flaws after US firm shows AI cyberattack worm could hijack accounts

BEIJING, Sept 9 — The operator of Chinese mega-app WeChat said Wednesday it had fixed software weaknesses flagged by a US cybersecurity firm that demonstrated how AI could be used to exploit them.

WeChat is ubiquitous among Chinese speakers worldwide, used by more than a billion people for messaging and digital payments among many other features.

The US company, Calif, describes itself as a team of hackers aiming to “make the internet safer for everybody” by finding flaws in apps and other programmes.

Calif said it had used artificial intelligence to build a cyberattack “worm” able to spread from phone to phone simply by making calls to WeChat contacts, but had not unleashed it.

“The victim does not need to answer the call, or interact with their phone at all,” said a Calif blog post published Tuesday about its “WeWorm” project.