Amidst the heated Apple versus FBI debate, and the slew of terror attacks across the world, the most popular messenger app WhatsApp announced that they will be implementing an end-to-end encryption. Why is that a big deal? How does this impact you as one of the app’s billion registered users?
Let’s explain this in WhatsApp’s own words. The following was posted on their blog by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, founders of the messaging service: “When you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us.
End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private – sort of like a face-to-face conversation.” They went on to add that the encryption is on by default.
Essentially, what WhatsApp is saying is that they have locked all your communication. They aren’t peeking at your private sextexts and whatnots. WhatsApp just threw away the key to your communication, so no one can have access to your messages. This includes governments, rogue states, cyber criminals and whoever else comes knocking at their door waving a court order in their face. No political party or agency can come claim access to your account; not even a court of law or your mother-in-law. WhatsApp will just shrug and point to the big sign on the door that says ‘Encrypted’.
All the mumbo jumbo basically spells out that your personal data is safe, and only shared between you and the person(s) on the other end of that big fat Berlin wall of encryption.
Yes, that’s good news for those indulging in sending across images of their nether regions. But there’s a downside to the encryption business too.
The Paris attacks by ISIS religious extremists allegedly used WhatsApp and Telegram, both encrypted apps, to coordinate, plan and carry out the attacks. Koum and Acton have touched upon this topic also. They posted, “Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about encrypted services and the work of law enforcement. While we recognise the important work of law enforcement in keeping people safe, efforts to weaken encryption risk exposing people’s information to abuse from cybercriminals, hackers, and rogue states.” While this is all great for us, it does make law enforcement, anti-terrorism and general protection of the public all the more difficult.
It’s a catch-22 situation.
If WhatsApp opens up their networks, then it’s ripe for the government and whoever else to misuse it. Considering that we are moving into a world where everything is digital, opening up a messenger system to the government gives them full authority to spy on everything.
Closing the system lets terrorists run amok. One thing is clear though, that with this decision taken by WhatsApp, the debate is going to be raging on for months after. It’s quite likely that governments and agencies may move courts against this decision.
The reviewer is a part-time writer and full-time geek
No political party or agency can claim access
to your
account
