WhatsApp backdoor lets hackers intercept and read encrypted messages?
- Social media and security seem to have become modern day problems.
- WhatsApp was recently pulled up for a backdoor that allows encrypted messages to be intercepted.
- However, security experts refute the claim.
FollowGuardian has released an 'exclusive story' suggesting a backdoor in WhatsApp that allows intercepting encrypted messages. End-to-end encryption should mean no one can read WhatsApp messages, not even the company. However, a Guardian report recently highlighted that the way WhatsApp has been implemented its end-to-end protocol, this could be easily.
A backdoor essential means anyone including government bodies can access your messages. WhatsApp's encryption uses Signal protocol, the app that is considered to be most secure and even recommended by whistle blower Edward Snowden. It is developed by Open Whisper Systems.
However, Signal doesn't face the same vulnerability. "If a recipient changes the security key while offline, for instance, a sent message will fail to be delivered and the sender will be notified of the change in security keys without automatically resending the message," the report adds. But, WhatsApp has been implemented in a way that 'automatically re-sends an undelivered message with a new key without warning the user in advance or giving them the ability to prevent it'.
Meanwhile, an open letter co-signed by 30 researchers has been mounting pressure on The Guardian to retract the story. The letter refutes the claims and says 'backdoor' is the wrong choice of word. It also hits back at the news publication for reporting a story without advice from a wide range of security experts.
"The behaviour described in your article is not a backdoor in WhatsApp," the letter reads. The letter goes on to highlight the implications in Turkey.
"It was picked up by the Turkish media, including what remains of its dissident press. The story was carried in Turkey’s largest opposition newspaper, using your phrasing and paired with a statement by the head of Turkey’s internet administrative body–which oversees all the censorship and surveillance decisions–who quickly jumped to frame WhatsApp as unsafe. The message heard by activists, journalists and ordinary people around the world was clear: WhatsApp has a backdoor, it’s insecure, don’t use it," it further reads.
