Manipur man detects WhatsApp bug, enters FB 'Hall of Fame'

Representational picture

Imphal: Facebook has honoured a Manipuri man for discovering a WhatsApp bug that violated the privacy of a user.

Zonel Sougaijam, a 22-year-old civil engineer, said that the social media giant awarded USD 5000 to him and also included him in the 'Facebook Hall of Fame 2019', for detecting the WhatsApp bug. Sougaijam's name is currently at the 16th position in a list of 94 people, in the 'Facebook Hall of Fame' for this year. "During a voice call through WhatsApp, the bug used to allow the caller to upgrade it to a video call without the authorisation and knowledge of the receiver.

The caller was then able to see what the other person was doing, violating the privacy of the receiver," Sougaijam told PTI. After discovering the bug, Sougaijam said, he had reported the matter to the Bug Bounty Program of the Facebook, which deals with violation of privacy matters, in March. He said his report was acknowledged by the Facebook Security team the very next day and its technical department fixed the bug within 15-20 days.

"After reviewing this issue, we have decided to award you a bounty of $5000," Facebook said in an e-mail sent to Sougaijam. The man said he found his name in the Facebook ' Hall of Fame' page this month. Facebook, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, purchased the messaging service WhatsApp for a staggerring 19 billion USD in February 2014.

Top stories of the day

• Mumbai receives cyclonic rain before monsoon hits around June 15
• Mumbai: Esplanade holds key to heritage tag for whole precinct
• Mumbai Crime: Auto driver threatens to sever traffic cop's head, arrested in Khar
• Mumbai: NEET topper's face in ads of 3 different classes raises hackles
• Mumbai: Two die after auto crushed between dumper, private bus on EEH
• Mumbai: Chaos alert as BMC shuts old bridges in Juhu and Oshiwara
• Politicians to plant 9,000 trees for the 3,000 hacked over Metro 4 work
• Dr Ram Puniyani: To label me anti-Hindu is a carefully constructed prism'
• Mumbai doctor's suicide: Court proceedings in Dr Payal Tadvi's case to be recorded on video
• Mumbai Crime: IIT scholar who stalked woman for 5 years held in Bihar
• BMC chief Praveen Pardeshi: New zoo will help preserve Aarey better
• Sewri police arrest 'smart' thieves; discover plan to rob jewellery shops
• Mumbai: Two kids and five dogs electrocuted in first showers
• Nmami Agarwal: Celebrity nutritionist who has trained Manushi Chhillar
• Mumbai Rains: City welcomes first heavy showers of monsoon
• Masaba Gupta looks gorgeous in all-white ensemble
• Woman on flight opens emergency exit door mistaking it for toilet
• Tanuja on the road to recovery; Kajol shares a picture with mother
• Man stabbed to death by his friend over ludo game
• World Cup 2019: Anushka Sharma can't stop praising husband Virat Kohli's on-field gesture
• Yuvraj Singh receives a standing ovation from rumoured ex-girlfriend Kim Sharma on his retirement
• Yuvraj Singh: Cricket taught me to fight, fall, dust myself and get up
• World Cup 2019: ICC needs to take a serious look at the LED bails
• An era ends with Girish Karnad; last rites take place in Bengaluru
• Dino Morea and Shibani Dandekar spotted at an eatery in Bandra

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates