Ex-WhatsApp executive sues Meta over alleged security failures
SAN FRANCISCO: A former top security executive at WhatsApp has filed a federal lawsuit against parent company Meta, accusing it of repeated cybersecurity failures and retaliation for raising alarms over data protection lapses.
Attaullah Baig, who served as WhatsApp’s head of security from 2021 until early 2025, alleges in his 115-page complaint that roughly 1,500 engineers had broad and unsupervised access to sensitive user information, potentially violating a $5 billion US government order imposed on Meta in 2020 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
According to Baig, internal testing revealed that engineers could move or steal user data — including contact lists, IP addresses, and profile photos — without any detection or audit trail. He claims he repeatedly raised these concerns with senior leaders, including WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but was met with retaliation.
The lawsuit states Baig faced negative performance reviews, warnings, and was eventually terminated in February 2025 for what Meta described as “poor performance.” He further alleges that Meta blocked implementation of new security measures that could have curbed account takeovers impacting nearly 100,000 WhatsApp users daily, prioritizing user growth instead.
Meta has rejected the claims. In a statement, WhatsApp’s vice president of communications Carl Woog dismissed Baig’s allegations as distorted, saying, “Security is an adversarial space, and we pride ourselves on building on our strong record of protecting people’s privacy.” The company added that Baig’s dismissal was performance-related and supported by multiple senior engineers.
The case adds to growing scrutiny over Meta’s handling of user safety across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Baig, who previously held senior cybersecurity roles at PayPal and Capital One, is seeking reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and potential enforcement actions against Meta.
The lawsuit comes as Meta also faces separate allegations from employees that the company suppressed research on child safety concerns within its virtual reality products — claims the tech giant has also denied.
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