Lawsuit Alleges That WhatsApp Has No End-to-End Encryption

A lawsuit filed in San Francisco alleges that #WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption contains backdoors allowing #Meta employees to access user messages in real-time.

According to the complaint, internal tools allow engineers to view chats by User ID without a separate decryption step, bypassing the Signal Protocol protections the app claims to use.

The lawsuit cites £whistleblowers who claim that workers can request access to specific accounts via internal tasks, gaining unlimited temporal scope to a user's history, including deleted messages. Meta has labeled these claims false and absurd.

Technical experts note that while the Signal Protocol itself is mathematically secure, the integrity of end-to-end encryption relies entirely on the security of the endpoints. Potential vulnerabilities in WhatsApp include unencrypted cloud backups, metadata collection, and the fact that the client software is closed-source.

Without the ability to audit the code or verify public keys through an independent directory, users must trust that the application is not exfiltrating plaintext data before it is encrypted for transit.

The legal action highlights the ongoing tension between corporate privacy marketing and the technical reality of centralized messaging platforms. If the allegations of an internal "widget" for message access are proven true, it would represent a fundamental breach of the encryption standards Meta has advertised since 2016.
https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/01/27/0550249/lawsuit-alleges-that-whatsapp-has-no-end-to-end-encryption

#WhatsApp #Meta #Privacy #CyberSecurity #Encryption #DataPrivacy #E2EE #TechNews #Lawsuit #Whistleblower #DigitalRights #Messaging #InformationSecurity #SignalProtocol

Lawsuit Alleges That WhatsApp Has No End-to-End Encryption

A lawsuit filed in San Francisco alleges that #WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption contains backdoors allowing #Meta employees to access user messages in real-time.

According to the complaint, internal tools allow engineers to view chats by User ID without a separate decryption step, bypassing the Signal Protocol protections the app claims to use.

The lawsuit cites £whistleblowers who claim that workers can request access to specific accounts via internal tasks, gaining unlimited temporal scope to a user's history, including deleted messages. Meta has labeled these claims false and absurd.

Technical experts note that while the Signal Protocol itself is mathematically secure, the integrity of end-to-end encryption relies entirely on the security of the endpoints. Potential vulnerabilities in WhatsApp include unencrypted cloud backups, metadata collection, and the fact that the client software is closed-source.

Without the ability to audit the code or verify public keys through an independent directory, users must trust that the application is not exfiltrating plaintext data before it is encrypted for transit.

The legal action highlights the ongoing tension between corporate privacy marketing and the technical reality of centralized messaging platforms. If the allegations of an internal "widget" for message access are proven true, it would represent a fundamental breach of the encryption standards Meta has advertised since 2016.
https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/01/27/0550249/lawsuit-alleges-that-whatsapp-has-no-end-to-end-encryption

#WhatsApp #Meta #Privacy #CyberSecurity #Encryption #DataPrivacy #E2EE #TechNews #Lawsuit #Whistleblower #DigitalRights #Messaging #InformationSecurity #SignalProtocol

Fediverse has been snubbed again? What about Loops or Pixelfed?

Australian app UpScrolled reports influx of downloads after after Oracle took over TikTok’s US operations last week, sparking concerns about censorship.

#Apps #SocialMedia #Algorithm #BigTech #Censorship #Tech #DataPrivacy #CyberSecurity

https://www.theverge.com/news/867958/tiktok-upscrolled-app-us-takeover

📺 Data is the new oil. Max #Schrems and Chou Kuan-Ju give a worrying reveal on how large actors get their hands on your #data and why data #privacy is a matter of national security.

👉 https://youtu.be/oAkRnzM7jCs

#BigData #DataPrivacy

Fediverse has been snubbed again? What about Loops or Pixelfed?

Australian app UpScrolled reports influx of downloads after after Oracle took over TikTok’s US operations last week, sparking concerns about censorship.

#Apps #SocialMedia #Algorithm #BigTech #Censorship #Tech #DataPrivacy #CyberSecurity

https://www.theverge.com/news/867958/tiktok-upscrolled-app-us-takeover

The most annoying thing about corporate surveillance to me is the arrogance of the prediction mechanisms.

These algorithms build a model of me based on my clicks from three years ago and then try to trap me in that loop forever. They show me music they think I'll like, and news they think I'll engage with, and videos they think will enrage me enough to keep me hooked to their platforms. They are actively trying to flatten my personality into something easy to monetize.

As most people I've seen say out loud, "Privacy as a concept is way beyond hiding secrets. A part of it also means preserving your capacity to change. To be surprised. To be inconsistent."

If I could tell every human one thing, it would be to actively refuse to be a predictable data point. Mess up their metrics. In whatever way you are capable of.

#socialmedia #algorithmicbias #privacy #dataprivacy #quotes #foss #facebook #linkedin #llm #noai #enshittification #reading #books #baking #art #philosophy #adhd #depression #cybersecurity

The most annoying thing about corporate surveillance to me is the arrogance of the prediction mechanisms.

These algorithms build a model of me based on my clicks from three years ago and then try to trap me in that loop forever. They show me music they think I'll like, and news they think I'll engage with, and videos they think will enrage me enough to keep me hooked to their platforms. They are actively trying to flatten my personality into something easy to monetize.

As most people I've seen say out loud, "Privacy as a concept is way beyond hiding secrets. A part of it also means preserving your capacity to change. To be surprised. To be inconsistent."

If I could tell every human one thing, it would be to actively refuse to be a predictable data point. Mess up their metrics. In whatever way you are capable of.

#socialmedia #algorithmicbias #privacy #dataprivacy #quotes #foss #facebook #linkedin #llm #noai #enshittification #reading #books #baking #art #philosophy #adhd #depression #cybersecurity

Every data centre is a U.S. military base

https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/every-data-centre-is-a-u-s-military-base/

#HackerNews #EveryDataCentreIsAMilitaryBase #DataPrivacy #CyberSecurity #MilitaryInfluence #TechInfrastructure #DataCenters

Then there is my #dataprivacy longseller "Dann haben die halt meine Daten. Na und?!" which I'm updating about every one and a half years – at least in German. With lots and lots of practical how-tos for securing one's computer and phone, using encryption etc. And a hands-on approach on explaining, why all that matters. The updated English version, "Easy Ways to be More Private on the Internet", is overdue and I hope to finalise it this spring. #NaUndDasBuch #PrivacyBook

https://www.zotzmann-koch.com/buecher/na-und/

PH, when?

Malaysia blocks access to Grok, joining a growing list of countries like Indonesia taking action after the genAI chatbot sparked a global backlash by allowing users to create and publish sexualized images.

#TootSEA #genAI #Malaysia #Tech #Asian #Indonesia #Twitter #SocialMedia #CyberSecurity #DataPrivacy

https://www.rappler.com/technology/malaysia-restricts-access-grok-ai-sexualized-images/

PH, when?

Malaysia blocks access to Grok, joining a growing list of countries like Indonesia taking action after the genAI chatbot sparked a global backlash by allowing users to create and publish sexualized images.

#TootSEA #genAI #Malaysia #Tech #Asian #Indonesia #Twitter #SocialMedia #CyberSecurity #DataPrivacy

https://www.rappler.com/technology/malaysia-restricts-access-grok-ai-sexualized-images/

Instagram data breach reportedly exposed the personal info of 17.5M users

https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/an-instagram-data-breach-reportedly-exposed-the-personal-info-of-175-million-users-192105616.html

#HackerNews #InstagramDataBreach #DataPrivacy #Cybersecurity #UserSafety #PersonalInformation #OnlineSecurity