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Once again, the security of the most popular messaging client is questioned. WhatsApp suffers another severe setback after the publication of an article at the University of Brno, which ensures that the social giant is not correctly encrypting the messages we sendthrough the platform. The client could be encrypting all conversations with a single key, which puts our privacy at risk on Wi-Fi networks
WhatsApp has suffered greatly due to the insecurity of its servers. From accessing deleted photos from a URL, to conversations that could be easily intercepted by anyone on a Wi-Fi network, but now that it seemed that security was already taken for granted, we see how WhatsApp might not be as "encrypted" as we've been led to believe.
Vulnerable WhatsApp: its encryption exposed on Wi-Fi networks
Zuckerberg's company acquired WhatsApp and with it all the rights and obligations of this popular platform. It seems that they have worked hard to improve security in WhatsApp, but the dark shadow of the problems of the past returns again.
According to a study conducted by the Faculty of Information Technology, at the Brno University of Technology, the encryption used by the application Instant messaging might not be as useful as we were initially told.
WhatsApp would be encrypting the conversations of its 900 million users with the same key, something that was not what was proposed in a beginning. Applications such as Telegram encrypt conversations using the keys of each client that intervenes in it, but not the same for the entire platform.
This could have two implications:
1. It is easier to violate the security of our conversations on a Wi-Fi network by knowing in advance the key used, which seems to be global for the entire service.
two. WhatsApp can decrypt and read our messages, since it has the key to the door that closes the security of our conversations, images and other files shared through its servers.
This has raised thousands of users to a rallying cry, who see how once again security in WhatsApp leaves much to be desired, despite the large investment that has done Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg himself to improve the service.
There are much more secure alternatives when we need to send sensitive data. Starting with Telegram, although that should be a personal decision for each one, depending on the sensitivity of the data sent through WhatsApp.
What do you think of the encryption used by WhatsApp for our conversations? Do you use WhatsApp to send important information?
