WhatsApp Flaw Lets Hackers Alter Your Chats

One of the security features of WhatsApp is support for end-to-end encryption. This means that messages sent and received through WhatsApp are encrypted, which in theory means that no one would be able to intercept and read your messages mid-transmission. However, security researchers at Check Point are now suggesting otherwise.

During a recent Black Hat security conference held in Las Vegas, it has been revealed by the researchers that there are several WhatsApp flaws in which it would allow chat messages to be altered. This means that in theory, a hacker could take a message and change its contents to make it seem like a completely different message.

One of the other flaws discovered also allowed the hacker to change how a message’s sender is identified, allowing the hacker to mis-attribute a message to make it seem like it came from someone else. This in turn could sow chaos as it could allow hackers with malicious intent to spread false news and make it seem like it comes from a credible source. That being said, Check Point claims that these issues have since been addressed.

In a statement made to TechRadar Pro, a Facebook spokesperson said, “We carefully reviewed this issue a year ago and it is false to suggest there is a vulnerability with the security we provide on WhatsApp. The scenario described here is merely the mobile equivalent of altering replies in an email thread to make it look like something a person didn’t write. We need to be mindful that addressing concerns raised by these researchers could make WhatsApp less private – such as storing information about the origin of messages.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Apps, Hack, Security, Whatsapp