WhatsApp notifies hundreds of users who installed a fake app made by government spyware maker

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View this email online in your browser  April 01, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 WhatsApp notifies hundreds of users who installed a fake app made by government spyware maker: The Meta-owned company said it identified around 200 users who were tricked into installing a fake version of WhatsApp that was actually Italian-made spyware. Read More Meta's natural gas binge could power South Dakota: Meta's upcoming Hyperion AI data center will be powered by 10 new natural gas plants. Read More Apple releases security fix for older iPhones and iPads to protect against DarkSword attacks: The security update protects a raft of older iPhones and iPads from attacks linked to leaked hacking tools called DarkSword. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Sign up! A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now Afternoon Must-Reads Mercor says it was hit by cyberattack tied to compromise of open source LiteLLM project: The AI recruiting startup confirmed a security incident after an extortion hacking crew took credit for stealing data from the company's systems. Read More Hasbro says it was hacked, and may take 'several weeks' to recover: The American toy-making giant noted that it was continuing to "implement measures to secure its business operations," suggesting that the hackers may still be in the company's systems. Read More 'System failure' paralyzes Baidu robotaxis in China: Passengers in Baidu's robotaxis were trapped for up to two hours. Read More SpaceX files confidentially for IPO in mega listing potentially valued at $1.75 trillion, report says: The company has also lined up an unusually large number of 21 banks to manage the mega IPO, internally codenamed "Project Apex." Read More A new dating app, Sonder, has a deliberately annoying sign-up process (and it's working): Sonder profiles are completely unstructured, encouraging users to build something that looks like a mood board or a digital collage. Think MySpace rather than LinkedIn. Read More A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now You missed these chats from Disrupt: Kindred talks home-swapping platform for travelers, Chef Robotics introduces AI into commercial kitchens, and Character.AI addresses chatbot safety with teens. Watch on Cheddar.com Watch on Streaming Last but Not Least The reputation of troubled YC startup Delve has gotten even worse: Delve faces new allegations that it violated the open source license of its customer, Sim.ai, by taking the customers's tool and passing it off as its own. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107