The popular messenger WhatsApp will provide users with the ability to encrypt backups of chats, which, depending on the device used, are stored unencrypted in Apple’s iCloud or Google Drive cloud space. Now the developers have taken a step towards eliminating one of the methods of stealing the private correspondence of the messenger users.
Despite the fact that messages sent by users are protected with end-to-end encryption; although this is now questionable, chat backups have no encryption at all. Backups of WhatsApp chats in the cloud have long been in use by law enforcement agencies around the world; to access the data of suspected messenger users. Now the development team has states that the weak link in the messenger system will be.
“WhatsApp is the first global messaging service at this scale to offer end-to-end encrypted messaging and backups, and getting there was a really hard technical challenge that required an entirely new framework for key storage and cloud storage across operating systems,” said Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg in a post announcing the new feature.
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WhatsApp will allow you to encrypt backups of chats stored in the cloud
According to reports, the developers of WhatsApp have created a system that allows users of the messenger on devices with Android and iOS to protect their chat backups using encryption. In the next few weeks, users will be able to generate a 64-character key to block access to the backup. Users can store the password offline, in a password manager, or in the cloud ” backup key store ” developed by WhatsApp. If the user does not want to use the generated key, he can specify his own combination of characters.
“We know that some will prefer the 64-digit encryption key whereas others want something they can easily remember; so we will be including both options. Once a user sets their backup password, we will not know it. They can reset it on their original device if they forget it,” WhatsApp said.
“For the 64-digit key, we will notify users multiple times when they sign up for end-to-end encrypted backups that if they lose their 64-digit key; we will not be able to restore their backup and that they should write it down. Before the setup is complete, we’ll ask users to affirm that they’ve saved their password or 64-digit encryption key.”
According to the available data, the ability to encrypt WhatsApp backups will be available in all markets; where the messenger is present. The distribution of the feature will begin shortly and will take several weeks.
