WhatsApp chats protected by end-to-end encryption
Popular instant messaging service Whatsapp today announced all its users’ communications will be encrypted.
End-to-end encryption scrambles messages as they are sent and can only be decrypted by the receiver’s device.
It means messages are simply unreadable by anyone apart from sender and receiver, whether by criminals or the police.
The Facebook-owned company said one of its ‘core beliefs’ is protecting the privacy of its billion users worldwide.
A statement from the company explained "The idea is simple: 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.
"Reactions to the move have been varied. Many have been celebrating. Amnesty International claimed the move was “a major boost for people’s ability to express themselves and communicate without fear”.
However, many law enforcement professionals have expressed concern that, even with warrants, they won’t have access to the communications of suspected terrorists and child abusers who they now believe will choose to use WhatsApp to commit their crimes.
Last year, the Prime Minister made a case for a backdoor in encryption – a way for law enforcement to access messages if they needed to – however, freedom and privacy campaigners are in total opposition to this. A privacy advocate we spoke to said “there is no such thing as a backdoor that only lets the good guys in. Backdoors compromise the security of the entire internet. Police must do their job and investigate crime, not rely on accessing people’s private communications as police work”.
The debate continues.