Zak is a widely recognized expert on surveillance, cyber and the security and privacy risks with AI, big tech, social media and smartphones. He is regularly cited in the media, with appearances on BBC, Sky, NPR, NBC, Channel 4, TF1, ITV and Fox. Zak has 25-years real-world experience in AI, cyber and surveillance.
Perception fast becomes reality when it comes to the privacy and security of our phones. This is the halo that Apple’s iPhone trades on and Google’s Android battles to attain. It’s the reason millions think Telegram is fully secure when it isn’t, and it’s whyMusk doesn’t especially care about Signal—he famously advocated for the platform in the past.
But he does care about WhatsApp, its Meta ownership and especially its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with whom he has an So there was little surprise when Musk picked up on an X post that suggested a chat on WhatsApp prompted targeted ads on Instagram. “If WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted,” the post asked, “why am I seeing ads for a bag out of the blue?”suggested WhatsApp’s desktop app was so insecure that “malware could theoretically monitor and send them live to a remote server, rendering end-to-end encryption useless.”The Best Brewery In The U.S.—According To The U.S. Open Beer Championship That report from researcher Tommy Mysk suggested this kind of backdoor was opened by WhatsApp’s poor desktop architecture, with its failure to sandbox data from other apps and processes—unlike, for example, iMessage. The warning covered both WhatsApp and Signal and was serious enough to prompt some security experts to either confirm theyAs Mysk told me “both the macOS apps of Signal and WhatsApp store their local data in a location accessible to any app or process run by the user. This local data includes the chat history, the very thing such apps are marketed to protect with end-to-end encryption. There wouldn't be an issue if the data were encrypted, as one would expect from the leading secure chat apps. Sadly, both apps let their users down here.”that WhatsApp exports his data each night, WhatsApp denying the claim, and then Mysk pointing out the difference between encrypted data and metadata.The issue for WhatsApp is that these stories delve into the little discussed or understood world of end-to-end encryption, what it is and—critically—what it isn’t. That encryption protects your data from when it leaves your device until it is received and decrypted by those you message. It is a transmission security layer. And while that encryption can be extended to backups and data at rest on your device, the recent desktop app warning clearly shows that this isn’t a prerequisite or a default. Some security commentators have been quick to point out that unencrypted data at rest on an endpoint—a Mac, for example—is not a security vulnerability per se. After all, if an attacker controls a device they control your data. But Mysk’s point is that malware could open up remote access to that data, which could easily be protected. “WhatsApp doesn't encrypt the local database that stores chat histories,” Mysk says of its desktop app. “It doesn't encrypt media attachments sent through the chat either.” For now, the latest security warning relates to desktop and not iOS or Android apps, and the metadata analysis claims that continue to lurk in the background have little new substance. I still recommend WhatsApp as a daily messenger, but would suggest you consider unlinking your desktop apps if you have any reason to be concerned.But let’s play a different game and look at the other implications if we link these various stories together. If end-to-end encryption is limited to transmission security, it supports the argument being made in Europe forbefore they’re sent, which would add similar device-side vulnerabilities to Mysk’s desktop warning. It also raises a dark new question. Hypothetically, of course, what would stop a company with multiple apps on a device analyzing user messages before they’re encrypted and sent or after they’re received and decrypted; all device-side, all automated, no data egressed; with the data shared device-side between apps to target ads without compromising end-to-end encryption.Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kindContinuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejectedAttempts or tactics that put the site security at riskProtect your community.
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New WhatsApp Warning—Do You Need To Delete Your App?Zak is a widely recognized expert on surveillance, cyber and the security and privacy risks with AI, big tech, social media and smartphones. He is regularly cited in the media, with appearances on BBC, Sky, NPR, NBC, Channel 4, TF1, ITV and Fox. Zak has 25-years real-world experience in AI, cyber and surveillance.
Read more »