WhatsApp to add security features to protect users from hackers
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The new features on WhatsApp introduce extra checks to ensure people are who they say they are.
PHOTO: AFP
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SINGAPORE – Messaging platform WhatsApp on Thursday announced a range of new security features aimed at making it more difficult for hackers to take over users’ accounts.
These tools, which will be added to the Meta-owned app in the coming months, introduce extra checks to ensure that people are who they say they are.
For example, when users switch their WhatsApp account to a new device, they may receive an alert on their old device asking them to verify if they really wish to switch. Getting an unexpected alert could mean someone is trying to steal their account.
Another feature, device verification, checks that messages sent through WhatsApp match the device it is linked with, preventing hackers from impersonating victims on a separate device. The tool works in the background, needing no action from users, and has been rolled out to Android users first.
Users can also automatically verify that the person they are chatting with is really who they believe it is by clicking on the encryption tab under a contact’s information. Currently, users have to manually verify a security code.
WhatsApp, which has some two billion users worldwide, said in a blog post on its website: “Protecting your personal messages with default end-to-end encryption is the foundation of that security and we will keep building new features to give you extra layers of privacy.”
Concerns about WhatsApp security surfaced in November after reports claiming that a database containing the details of some 500 million users had been leaked and put up for sale. Meta has refuted these claims.
The latest security updates can make it tougher for impersonators to take over victims’ accounts even if their details have been leaked, said Ms Joanne Wong, vice-president of international markets at cyber-security firm LogRhythm. The changes also give business users some peace of mind as the app is widely used for work in the region.
Unlike Telegram and many popular messaging apps, WhatsApp is encrypted by default,
“The changes are not revolutionary, but it helps the app be more secure than before,” said Ms Wong.
The update will make it safer for users to transfer WhatsApp to other devices, and can help protect users who may unknowingly have downloaded viruses that can allow hackers to hijack their devices, said Privacy Ninja co-founder Andy Prakash.
Device verification technology, which stores an authentication token on the users’ device, is also not found in most other messaging apps, he noted.
The app’s encryption capabilities are also made more transparent, thanks to the option for users to verify if the messages with their friends are secure by checking the encryption tab, he said.
