With over a billion users, WhatsApp is the unreachable market leader. We will show you how you can intercept WhatsApp messages and how to protect yourself from it.
Displaying messages from WhatsApp in the browser
For Facebook, the owner of WhatsApp, WhatsApp Web is just an option, but security experts see it as a threat. Through it, users can open the contents of all saved messages in a web browser, read any chat from there, and even send new messages.
However, this opportunity can become a trap: it is enough to leave an unlocked phone unlocked at the workplace for a short time so that an envious colleague can scan a special QR code on web.whatsapp.com with your device. To expose this kind of espionage, open WhatsApp and go to Settings. Here select the line “WhatsApp Web / Desktop”. You will see a list of active connections. By clicking on the line “Log out from all computers” you end all sessions.
To protect yourself from such peeping in the future, turn on a screen lock on your phone. After that, you can not be afraid that someone unnoticeably reads the QR-code on the computer with your device and will gain access to the correspondence.
In addition, malware can also interfere with your WhatsApp. For example, it allows criminals to secretly take pictures. Use the webcam cover for protection.
We also recommend installing an appropriate antivirus. In addition, it is imperative that you only install apps from the official Google or Apple app stores.
This way you can be sure that no manipulations have been carried out with the program and that it will not immediately start sending the contents of messages to web spyware.
Checking encryption keys
End-to-end encryption is provided for WhatsApp correspondence. The keys needed for it are stored directly on the devices. With the help of them, WhatsApp encodes information and sends it to the recipient.
Experts, however, have figured out a method to bypass such encryption. They simply change the key on the recipient’s device so that they can read the message in a man-in-the-middle attack.
The messenger settings are to blame for the fact that the user has neither a rumor nor a spirit about it. Facebook prioritizes comfort over safety and does not advertise changes. However, it is possible to activate notifications about the change of the used key. She hides in the settings.
To enable notifications, launch WhatsApp and go to Settings. From there open “Account | Safety”. Activate the option “Show security notifications”.
If the recipient’s key then changes, you will know. However, such a change does not necessarily indicate an attack.
It is likely that the recipient simply linked their new phone to their WhatsApp account. And in this case, the encryption code will be different. When in doubt, the easiest way is to ask the other person what happened.