Netanyahu Aide's WhatsApp Linked to Syrian-Saudi Operator

An investigation has revealed that Yonatan Urich, an advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu, connected his private WhatsApp account to a management service operated by an individual with suspected ties to Syria and Saudi Arabia. The service, ultramsg, is officially registered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but new findings suggest its operator may be Mwaffak Zakaryia, who has lived or worked in Syria and Saudi Arabia. Zakaryia's online presence, including email registrations and social media accounts, indicates connections to these countries, as well as Jordan and the UAE. The service provided ultramsg with unencrypted, full access to Urich's conversations and media, potentially exposing this sensitive information to authorities in the UAE and possibly other nations where the operator has resided. The investigation, conducted by online researcher Revital Salomon, used open-source intelligence to link the ultramsg service to Zakaryia. Salomon's findings suggest ultramsg is likely a private project run by one person or a very small group, rather than a larger company as publicly stated. This raises concerns about the lack of oversight and control over the data accessed by the service, expanding potential access beyond the UAE to countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, some of which do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Urich's response to the findings was not obtained.