Can Hackers Breach WhatsApp’s Special Encryption?

WhatsApp is known to be a secure text-messaging service, but just how secure could it be? The main concern for users is whether or not the security of WhatsApp can be easily breached. The simple answer is no, but there are rumors that WhatsApp is not as flawless as advertised. Try to keep your WhatsApp messages, photos, and videos in mind; presume the worst, expect the best. Even if you send media once in a while, use the WhatsApp cleaner feature in dfndr performance to wipe them from your phone after you send them. Install it now:

Running this feature not only keeps prying eyes off your Whatsapp files, but it also helps you free up space on your device. When it comes to security, WhatsApp’s system is described as using “end-to-end encryption.” Encryption, in layman’s terms, is the scrambling of data in between two people.

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Say Person A wants to send his Social Security number to Person B. Using a normal encryption service, Person A’s message would be scrambled so that no one could read it until it arrives to Person B. It is like football: no one will intercept the message before the receiver catches it.

Usually, encrypted messages can be seen by only one other person, Person C, i.e. the moderators of the normal texting app. They can unscramble encrypted messages if, say, they receive a search warrant from the police. While most times they may not need to descramble the messages of innocent Person A, a hacker could use Person C’s ability to read Person A’s message for malicious reasons.

WhatsApp’s encryption is different. End-to-end encryption is so secure that even WhatsApp cannot access Person A’s message. In other words, there is no Person C, and, supposedly, no potential hackers. It’s like trying to intercept an invisible football. By design, WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption is foolproof; the only person who can read Person A’s message is Person B, and vice-versa. However, while this makes hacking far-from easy, recent rumors have been circulating, wondering if WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption has a “backdoor.”

A backdoor is a loophole through encryption, like anti-invisibility goggles to intercept the invisible football. However, since the end-to-end encryption disconnects Person C from the equation, WhatsApp would not even be aware of where the backdoor is. But still, there is no concrete evidence of a WhatsApp backdoor. In short, be wise with what you send over the Internet. You should not be paranoid with WhatsApp, however. Thanks to end-to-end encryption, the text messaging app is a hard nut to crack.