WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

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Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption all of a sudden become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have embarked worrying government surveillance of their lives and are weeping out for technologies that assure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it wished to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comebacks to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their pic, bad for their user numbers (some would budge elsewhere) and very likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Firmer to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base proceeds to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption abruptly become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have began worrying government surveillance of their lives and are blubbering out for technologies that assure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it wished to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comes back to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their pic, bad for their user numbers (some would stir elsewhere) and most likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Firmer to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base resumes to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption all of a sudden become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have embarked worrying government surveillance of their lives and are howling out for technologies that assure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it dreamed to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comebacks to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their pic, bad for their user numbers (some would budge elsewhere) and very likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Tighter to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base resumes to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption abruptly become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have commenced worrying government surveillance of their lives and are sobbing out for technologies that assure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it wished to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comes back to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their pic, bad for their user numbers (some would stir elsewhere) and very likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Tighter to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base proceeds to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption all of a sudden become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have embarked worrying government surveillance of their lives and are blubbering out for technologies that ensure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it wished to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comebacks to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their photo, bad for their user numbers (some would stir elsewhere) and very likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Tighter to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base resumes to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption abruptly become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have commenced worrying government surveillance of their lives and are sobbing out for technologies that assure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it desired to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comes back to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their picture, bad for their user numbers (some would stir elsewhere) and most likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Stiffer to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base proceeds to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption abruptly become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have embarked worrying government surveillance of their lives and are blubbering out for technologies that assure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it dreamed to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comes back to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their pic, bad for their user numbers (some would budge elsewhere) and very likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Stiffer to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base resumes to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption abruptly become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have commenced worrying government surveillance of their lives and are howling out for technologies that ensure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it dreamed to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comes back to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their picture, bad for their user numbers (some would stir elsewhere) and very likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Firmer to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base resumes to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption abruptly become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have began worrying government surveillance of their lives and are weeping out for technologies that assure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it wished to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comebacks to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their pic, bad for their user numbers (some would stir elsewhere) and most likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Stiffer to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base proceeds to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption all of a sudden become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have commenced worrying government surveillance of their lives and are weeping out for technologies that assure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it dreamed to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comes back to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their photo, bad for their user numbers (some would budge elsewhere) and very likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Tighter to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base proceeds to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp tightens user privacy with encrypted movie calls – Naked Security

Naked Security

Post navigation

Not that long ago, encryption was a technology that only techies and the paranoid worried about.

Now the one of the most popular apps in the world, WhatsApp, sees end-to-end encryption as being central to its future and that of its estimated one billion users.

The latest bit of WhatsApp to get the security makeover is face-to-face movie calling, a fresh feature being added to the program in a global roll-out from this week.

So why has encryption abruptly become so significant to everyone?

Conventional wisdom holds that in a post-Edward Snowden world, app users have began worrying government surveillance of their lives and are howling out for technologies that ensure privacy.

End-to-end encryption (with forward secrecy and user verification), licensed from Open Whisper Systems in 2014, does this because the keys used to encrypt data are generated by mobile devices and are never stored on WhatsApp servers.

The company can’t access user data even if it desired to. Crucially – and this is the bit to pay attention to – law enforcement agencies who turn up at its offices can’t either.

Naturally, WhatsApp and other companies busily integrating end-to-end encryption into their software emphasise privacy.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

It’s a theme WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Jan Koum, a Ukrainian who grew up under Soviet Communism, often comebacks to. In a blog from this April:

“No one can see inwards that message. Not cyber-criminals. 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.”

In addition to movie calls, WhatsApp users now love this security feature for messaging and phone calls too.

Digging deeper

An alternative explanation is that WhatsApp and other software makers are busily adding strong encryption to protect themselves as much as users.

It’s no secret that governments see encryption as a threat to their monitoring of criminal suspects. Tech companies, for their part, fear being dragged into that effort in a way that turns them into surveillance proxies.

That would be bad for their picture, bad for their user numbers (some would budge elsewhere) and very likely technically inconvenient to manage on a day-to-day basis.

There is precedent here: in two thousand ten BlackBerry found itself battling governments over user encryption keys held on its servers.

The election of Donald Trump as US president has heightened these fears, albeit given that FBI policy to encryption is already hostile it’s not clear how official policy can tighten much further.

Firmer to explain is WhatsApp’s latest controversial integration with Facebook that gives the parent company access to user’s contacts and metadata.

In plain English, WhatsApp (and potentially the FBI and GCHQ) can’t see what a user is telling but they can see who they are telling it to.

WhatsApp’s user base proceeds to expand apace, undaunted by privacy worries even as governments circle. The sooner WhatsApp can get encryption up and running the better – for its users but also for WhatsApp itself.

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