“Recently there has been a lot of discussion about encrypted services and the work of law enforcement”, he said. The announcement has come close on the heels of a legal battle between Apple and Federal Bureau of Investigation over the U.S. agency’s demand that the iPhone maker help unlock its mobile phones.
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WhatsApp’s messages can’t be intercepted because they’re encrypted or “locked” using a shared key between the sender and receiver, which the messenging service allows users to verify through a authentication process.
WhatsApp says it’s now using a powerful form of encryption to protect the security of photos, videos, group chats and voice calls in addition to the text messages sent by its more than a billion users around the globe.
The development comes courtesy of a partnership announced two years ago between Facebook’s WhatsApp and Open Whisper Systems, a communications security project that develops and distributes privacy tools.
Jan Koum, WhatsApp’s co-founder, who grew up in Soviet-era Ukraine, said: ‘The desire to protect people’s private communication is one of the core beliefs we have at WhatsApp and for me it’s personal.
This means, no third party, including the parent company can access customers’ messages even if approached by law enforcement agencies for national security – messages will only be readable between the sender and the recipient. However, the operations of the protocol took place behind the scenes, with messages only being encrypted.
WhatsApp has puts out a one-line advisory to its users: Messages you send to this chat and calls are now secured with end-to-end encryption. “We live in a world where more of our data is digitized than ever before”, with frequent incidents being reported about sensitive records being improperly accessed or stolen, the post states. Users don’t have the option of switching off end-to-end encryption.
It can also unlock messages under a court order. Similar measures are under consideration in Britain and France.
While encryption undeniably provides security in this new digital era, one can not ignore the risks we are now exposed to.
Tanya O’Carroll of Amnesty International welcomed the move, calling it “a major boost for people’s ability to express themselves and communicate without fear”.
Apple is no different from Facebook, which owns WhatsApp following a 2014 takeover that saw Mark Zuckerberg part with up to $21 billion.
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While WhatsApp’s blog post says this will lock out cyber criminals, hackers and oppressive regimes, it fails to mention that it might also be providing a platform to people who intend to misuse it. “I’m proud of our team for hitting this milestone”, he said.
