Updated: September 26, 2020 2:41:05 pm
What does WhatsApp end-to-end encryption mean?
WhatsApp is used by more than two billion users around the world, so keeping the messaging platform secure is of the utmost importance. Time and time again, the Facebook-owned instant messaging platform has said that all chats that occur on WhatsApp are secure and cannot be accessed by a third party, in fact not even WhatsApp. However, some of the recent incidents involving the leakage of WhatsApp chats by popular Bollywood actors tell a completely different story.
In recent days and weeks, reports have shown leaked WhatsApp chats from Bollywood actors in the ongoing drug investigation and the Sushant Singh Rajput case in Mumbai. This has raised concerns among WhatsApp users about the privacy of their private chats with friends and other people on the messaging platform. Despite the chat leak, WhatsApp claims that its platform is secure and keeps conversations safe and encrypted from end to end.
In a statement to the media, a WhatsApp spokesperson said that the platform “protects your messages with end-to-end encryption so that only you and the person you are communicating with can read what is being sent, and no one in between. can access it. , not even WhatsApp. “” It is important to remember that people register for WhatsApp using only a phone number, and WhatsApp does not have access to the content of their message, “said the spokesperson.
However, users should know that WhatsApp backup including chats, documents and all other media files happens in Google Drive on Android phones and iCloud for iPhones and nothing is in the hand of WhatsApp in that case. “WhatsApp follows the guidance provided by operating system manufacturers for device storage,” added a WhatsApp spokesperson.
It should also be noted that the backup of these files and chats on Google Drive and iCloud are not end-to-end encrypted, which means that others can access them if necessary, unlike WhatsApp chats that they can only see the sender and receiver. of the message.
The spokesperson also said that WhatsApp encourages users to take advantage of all the security features that operating systems provide, such as strong passwords or biometric identifications to prevent third parties from accessing content stored on the device.
In a blog post explaining end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp stated that “end-to-end encryption ensures that only you and the person you are communicating with can read what is being sent, and no one in between, not even WhatsApp. Your messages are protected with padlocks, and only you and the recipient have the special keys necessary to unlock and read your messages. “It should be noted that each and every WhatsApp chats has a security code that is used to verify that the Calls and messages sent to that chat are end-to-end encrypted.
“For added protection, every message you send has a unique lock and key. All of this happens automatically: you don’t need to activate settings or configure special secret chats to protect your messages, ”the company stated. The end-to-end encryption option in WhatsApp is always on and there is no way to disable the feature.
Regarding the leaked chats about some Bollywood actors, some rumors circulating on the Internet suggest that the leaked WhatsApp messages from Deepika Padukone and Shradhha Kapoor were accessed by NCB (Narcotics Control Office) with the help of the technique of mobile phone cloning. This technique is nothing new and has been around for years.
In a mobile phone cloning technique, the data and cellular identity of a device can be copied to a new phone. This can be done with the help of an application and without access to the phone that needs to be cloned. In the process, the transfer of the IMEI can also occur. You should be aware that mobile phone cloning is illegal for the general public, but authorities like NCB can always take the forensic route to legitimately access data stored on devices. Any cloned phone can access WhatsApp chat backups stored in iCloud or Google Drive.
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