Sep 14, 2025 09:46 PM
(This post was last modified: Sep 14, 2025 09:46 PM by MadScientist.)
According to Baig’s complaint, he joined Meta-owned WhatsApp in 2021, and allegedly served as head of security until he was terminated in February 2025 for poor performance. Prior to WhatsApp, he held cybersecurity-related roles at PayPal and Capital One.
However, Meta told SecurityWeek that Baig was not actually a ‘security chief’ as he claims, and instead served as a software engineering manager.
Baig has filed a whistleblower lawsuit under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Baig claims the social media giant actually terminated him over his repeated attempts to get the company to resolve serious cybersecurity issues.
Baig claims he discovered that hundreds of engineers had unrestricted access to WhatsApp user data without a valid reason. He also alleges that the company failed to address a significant volume of account takeovers.
Meta is also accused of violating a 2020 FTC privacy order requiring it to track and monitor user data access, and of failing to disclose the issues to the SEC, which could constitute securities fraud.
The ex-employee claims he made numerous attempts to get the attention of Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, pressuring them to get the issues addressed, but instead of doing so they started retaliating against him, including through negative performance reviews, micromanagement, and the cancellation of security features his team had developed.
Baig said he was ultimately terminated a few months after he personally reported Meta’s alleged cybersecurity deficiencies to the SEC.
Source - https://www.securityweek.com/ex-whatsapp...taliation/
However, Meta told SecurityWeek that Baig was not actually a ‘security chief’ as he claims, and instead served as a software engineering manager.
Baig has filed a whistleblower lawsuit under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Baig claims the social media giant actually terminated him over his repeated attempts to get the company to resolve serious cybersecurity issues.
Baig claims he discovered that hundreds of engineers had unrestricted access to WhatsApp user data without a valid reason. He also alleges that the company failed to address a significant volume of account takeovers.
Meta is also accused of violating a 2020 FTC privacy order requiring it to track and monitor user data access, and of failing to disclose the issues to the SEC, which could constitute securities fraud.
The ex-employee claims he made numerous attempts to get the attention of Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, pressuring them to get the issues addressed, but instead of doing so they started retaliating against him, including through negative performance reviews, micromanagement, and the cancellation of security features his team had developed.
Baig said he was ultimately terminated a few months after he personally reported Meta’s alleged cybersecurity deficiencies to the SEC.
Source - https://www.securityweek.com/ex-whatsapp...taliation/