A security expert has announced that he was able to find a breach in the supposedly "end-to-end" encryption system implemented into the Facebook-owned WatchApp messenger application.
According to Pulse Headlines, by early 2016 WatchApp has proudly announced an end-to-end encryption feature implemented into the messages exchanged with the application. This security feature has given users assurance that their private exchanged messages are safe and secure.
A digital security expert, Jonathan Zdziarski, has published an article on Thursday, July 28, stating that WhatsApp' "Clear All Chats" feature does not really delete users' messages. The security analyst details his findings on his blog. Zdziarski explains how he tested WhatsApp by using an iPhone to start several conversations on his account and then deleting, clearing and archiving some of the conversations.
The security expert discovered that messages that were supposedly cleared still appeared in SQLite relational database management system. This means that "the deleted records" in WhatsApp were not actually deleted. According to the security expert, every time an iPhone user performs a backup on iCloud and on a desktop computer, the chat's database gets copied as well.
The messages left in SQLite database pose some security risks, according to Zdziarski. For instance, a hacker with physical access to a smartphone could create a backup of the chat information and access private messages. The same operation is possible if a hacker has physical access to a computer when the unencrypted backup is stored.
Zdziarski explains that the only way to delete WhatsApp chat messages is to totally uninstall the application. For users who need the application but want to minimize the privacy risks, Zdziarski recommends using iTunes and choosing to set up a very complex backup password or using Configurator tool to lock the smartphone.
Digital Trends reports that, according to statistics, there are over 1 billion active users of WhatsApp messenger tool. Privacy and encryption have been major selling points of WhatsApp. It remains to be seen how the latest findings influence the popularity of the messaging app.
