WhatsApp's Security Vulnerability Makes Chill to Confident Messaging Sector

The messaging world slightly shivering on WhatsApp's security vulnerability cannot yet get through past worries of users on their encrypted messages being pried upon by online snoopers, attackers, and hackers. WhatsApp, Facebook's Messenger, Viber, Twitter and other social apps have their respective new updates and improvements lately, but still, the issue of WhatsApp's security vulnerability keeps on hounding the messaging sector. 

Critics said that WhatsApp's way of encrypting and re-encrypting messages with new encryption keys during offline without informing the sender or recipient makes its security vulnerable to snooping. WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton on Friday doused cold water to a deluge of online speculations, denying that the company has a "backdoor" in its messaging service. 

He said he would "fight any government request" to create an end-to-end encryption, the usual way to secure messages of social messaging platforms. Acton apparently insisted that an overhaul is not necessary as the company introduced the two-factor verification, 6-digit passcode set-up. 

But The Guardian has reported that an unnamed WhatsApp spokesperson said that the company had already introduced a feature of end-to-end encryption and in its Signal protocol it is notifying users when a contact security code is changed. The spokesperson reasoned out that because people change brands of phones or change Sim cards or reinstall WhatsApp, the changed code is the answer to make sure messages are not lost in transit and are surely sent to and received by the destinations.

He strongly asserted that despite the abundance of requests from governments worldwide WhatsApp would not give in to the demands or fight to any demand of a government to create a "backdoor". The resistance reflects the stance of WhatsApp's super mother company - Facebook that abhors a scenario of a government prying on its billions of data and messages.

Unmoved by the WhatsApp's security vulnerability issue, Facebook is confident to WhatsApp that it can weather a small storm. As Facebook debunked the issue that a "backdoor" is being created for it to intercept and read messages sent via WhatsApp, it recently added a small tweak of putting Facebook a local weather forecast feature.

Other apps are apparently confident and unmoved by the security vulnerability issue as they continue to made enhancements on their services. Viber has launched a photo messages feature while Twitter is readying to launch a filtering feature to remove contents made by offenders making harassment or abusing the use of its platform. Pinterest has its "Lens" feature, a photo search function, which allows users to find and match the photo of the product they want to buy.

Despite this WhatsApp's security vulnerability issue, popular social apps remain largely confident on their respective security setups these days. They not talking much about the problem and at the same launching little enhancements as they hold on their respective niches and keep on hold of product innovations.