Highly advanced spyware named 'Skygofree' (a type of software developed to infiltrate and damage computers and any system on the network) that is capable of stealing WhatsApp messages from victims has been discovered by cybersecurity researchers.

The ever-evolving software since its first release in 2014 features the ability to listen to the conversations and voices in the surrounding environment when the device seized.

The malware can "spy extensively" on people, and force their phones to record audio and video and take pictures, and steal text messages and call records, connect to Wi-Fi devices, all "without arousing suspicion", the researchers say.

The software can take pictures and videos; it can retrieve the device's memory search, SMS, location, calendar entries and business information.

Kaspersky Lab describes it as "one of the most advanced mobile implants" it has ever come across and says it "includes a number of advanced features not seen in the wild before", which can give an attacker full remote control of an infected device. (ILKHA)