Well everyone loves their privacy, don't you? Lately we have been getting more and more questions about WhatsApp, users asking if their account have been hacked and unsurprisingly enough we have also received requests to aid in exploitation of other accounts which by the way is unethical. Zim Social media streets has been flooded with content, that was allegedly stolen and leaked in what everyone is crediting to hacking of their private accounts. Let's talk about it in depth , in this article we are going to debunk all the myths about WhatsApp hacking and how to protect your phone from exploitation.
Well everyone loves their privacy, don't you? Lately we have been getting more and more questions about WhatsApp, users asking if their account have been hacked and unsurprisingly enough we have also received requests to aid in exploitation of other accounts which by the way is unethical. Zim Social media streets has been flooded with content, that was allegedly stolen and leaked in what everyone is crediting to hacking of their private accounts. Let's talk about it in depth , in this article we are going to debunk all the myths about WhatsApp hacking and how to protect your phone from exploitation.
WhatsApp is a social media platform that is similar to many mainstream social media platforms with one key difference which makes it a more preferred means of private communication. WhatsApp is a more private app that allows end to end encrypted conversations between 2 individuals or in group chats, we will talk about end to end encryption later in this post.
So what is Hacking?Well hacking is a very complex term that has different view points but there is one good takeaway from this which we will discuss later in this article. Hacking in cyber security refers to the misuse of devices like computers, smartphones, tablets, and networks to cause damage to or corrupt systems, gather information on users, steal data and documents, or disrupt data-related activity and more importantly the type we are referring to is carried out remotely not with physical access to target devices.
A traditional view of hackers is a lone rogue programmer who is highly skilled in coding and modifying computer software and hardware systems. But this narrow view does not cover the true technical nature of hacking. Hackers are increasingly growing in sophistication, using stealthy attack methods designed to go completely unnoticed by cybersecurity software and IT teams. They are also highly skilled in creating attack vectors that trick users into opening malicious attachments or links and freely giving up their sensitive personal data.As a result, modern-day hacking involves far more than just an angry kid in their bedroom. It is a multibillion-dollar industry with extremely sophisticated and successful techniques.
What motivates individuals to try and maliciously gain access to another users account?Well the most common reason people want to do that is relationships. In most cases it's partners who want to gain access to their partner's phone for whatever reasons they may have. Getting to hack WhatsApp is sophisticated so in other cases that are not relationship focused, it's very rare unless you are multi-million dollar company then attackers might be financially motivated to even invest time in trying to get your account.
The Question is can anyone remotely Hack Whatsapp?
The answer to this question is no but with that being said you can never say never in the tech world. To clarify and drive our point home, the hacking we are talking about here is remote hacking of devices from highly skilled hackers who can exploit vulnerabilities in the end to end encryption algorithm created by WhatsApp. Well you guessed right, the end to end encryption algorithm is no walk in the park, Whatsapp spends millions of dollars in it's end to end encrytpion algorithm which means only the sender and the receiver have access to the content they exchange. Anyone who wishes to bypass this will have to spend a lot of money and a lot of time not to mention they would have to be highly skilled which leaves out a handful of people or criminal organizations capable of at least achieving this goal. Getting to bypass this type of technology requires very highly skilled individuals and could cost millions just to get into 1 accounts which makes it a very illogical thing to do just to see texts of your partner which bring me to my next point, be wary of people who claim they get hack WhatsApp, to date there is no such thing because the costs of carrying out that attack are not reasonable unless you are attacking WhatsApp (the company) for ransomware payments but more on this later.
So What is this so called end to end encryption technology ?
A little bit of history, the 1990s saw the introduction of Pretty Good Privacy or PGP, an end-to-end encryption software created by a programmer named Phil Zimmermann, this would revolutionarise the tech world
End-to-End (E2E) Encryption is a system of secure communication, protecting data so that only the sender and the receiver can read the message. If the message is intercepted, no third party would be able to decipher or alter the message, securing it from any external influence and manipulation.
Encrypting a PDF file encrypts the content only (that is, objects in the file, which are characterized as either strings or streams). The remaining objects, determining the structure of the document, remain unencrypted. In other words, you can still find out the number and size of pages, objects, and links but not the actual message.With time this encrytpion has become better and better making it harder to break.
While remotely hacking remains a pipe dream and is not an option for a lot of people who intend on breaching other user accounts there are a few tricks which people who supposedly claim they hack accounts, actually use to get in so we will discuss those methods and ways to counter them and for the record it is not hacking.
How do attackers get in?
The first one will be controversial given a lot of users have unknowingly embraced this with open arms.
1. Use Of GB any unofficial Whatsapp apk
With the introduction of moded apks like GB, FM ,NA and many other Whatsapp moded apks data breach has becomes easier to hackers since third parties providing those mods can easily access the data. The is no legal binding to the third parties collecting your data from these unofficial apps which means they can to whatever they want with the data they collect.
The only way to protect yourself from this is to use the official apps WhatsApp provides, which are found on the Playstore or Appstore. Ditch all the bogus apps you have been using.
2. Whatsapp Web
Whatsapp released whatsapp web as way to have to users to control the same account , this is a very handy tool especially in business whatsapp. Some like any other good invention have misused it to do their own bidding at others expense.
To connect 2 devices using this method lne requires physical access to the target's phone so they can go on whatsapp and scan the QR code. You can check and see if there is an authorised user logged into your account by clicking the 3 dots on the top corner and then click on linked devices. Here you can see if another is logged in and if they are you can easily unlink them
One way to prevent this is to not give physical access of your phone to other users and if you do make sure its password protected.
3.Use of Operating Sytsems monitoring Apps
With the end to end encryption being a stumbling block many attackers have turned to monitoring tools which can be installed on the target's phone and they can monitor the whole phone. These tools have gained popularity since they don't need to bypass the end to end encryption but merely monitor anything that's showing up on the screen. In our other article we will do in depth analysis of these tools.
4.Saving the best for lastThere is a certain type of exploitation which uses the same concept as whatsapp web but this is deadly because it produces a scenario which is in a way, a DDoS attack which translates to Distributed Denial Of Service attack. This type of attack locks the owner out of their account and they can't even warn contacts that they have been hacked because they would be completely locked out. Even though you are the owner of the account with the number you can't even reset the account because nomatter what you do you can never log in even to delete your account until the user exploiting your account has willingly logged out. Because of its severe nature i will not divulge how to actually carry out this attack but for testing purposes we carried out this attack on volunteers to research and find out how to get back your account if the attacker refused to co-operate but it was impossible at least for the time being. If you want to see a demo of this type of attack, visit our website for trial: kinebyte.com
How to protect yourself from exploitation/ hacking
1.The first precaution you can take is limiting the physical access to your phone since sometimes it needs physical access to install monitoring tools first.
2.Another measure is to disallow installation of apps from unknown sources and to download apps from the appstore or playstore.
3.You should also be vigilant when clicking links because you might unknowingly install trojans from unknown links especially from emails, which might lead to unauthorised downloads and installations.
4.Another measure is to be aware of what kind of information about you is publicly available because you might end up being vulnerable to phishing attacks.
In conclusion taking these precautions will help you keep your account secure. With the changing digital world it has become more and more important to keep your account secure and keep your personal information private. Don't waste money on individuals claiming they can hack accounts. What's happening on social media, all these leaks are happening from one of these tricks not that someone is investing their time in trying to hack and bypass the end to end encryption. When people use such tricks to get into your it's not hacking but you have unknowingly shared a private key to your home so whenever you are not around they can come in. Stay safe on the internet.
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