WhatsApp backdoor: "A huge threat to freedom of speech"
- ITPro
- Jan 13, 2017
- 1 min read
A reported 'backdoor' in WhatsApp could undermine the security of private messages.
WhatsApp has a backdoor that could allow Facebook to intercept and read encrypted messages, it is claimed.
According to a report in The Guardian, the way WhatsApp has implemented its end-to-end encryption protocol makes it possible for the company to access private messages, at least in theory.
As the report explains, WhatsApp's encryption "relies on the generation of unique security keys", created using Open Whisper Systems' Signal protocol. These unique keys are traded and verified between users, to ensure that the lines of communication are secure from middlemen.
So far, so good. But it turns out WhatsApp also allegedly has the ability to automatically resend undelivered messages, forcing the generation of new encryption keys unbeknownst to the receiver.
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