WhatsApp is making a big push for privacy, adding end-to-end encryption to its Android app. This means the company could not decrypt the messages itself, even if compelled to by a government body.

WhatsApp is using source code from Open Whisper Systems, which powers several other security-focused texting apps. It isnt the first to enable this type of encryption, but WhatsApp is the largest and most prominent messaging service to do so. Other privacy-focused messaging apps include Cyberdust, which has not exactly taken off in popularity. Often the inconvenience of signing up for yet another service and convincing your friends to switch just isnt worth it.

Its unclear if the encryption will come to the WhatsApp iOS app. It would certainly be welcome, though it's not quite as necessary: iMessage already uses an encryption method that prevents stores and sends messages in an encrypted fashion, and prevents Apple from being able to decrypt them.

Why this matters: WhatsApp is the largest messaging service to adopt end-to-end encryption. It has over 600 million users across its Android and iOS apps. The demand for privacy is on the rise, as companies are loathe to hand over data to government agencies. While theres never a 100 percent guarantee that even the highest level of security cant be cracked, this could attract even more people to check out WhatsApp.

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WhatsApp now using end-to-end encryption in its Android app

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WhatsApp is making a big push for privacy, adding end-to-end encryption to its Android app. This means the company could not decrypt the messages itself, even if compelled to by a government body.

WhatsApp is using source code from Open Whisper Systems, which powers several other security-focused texting apps. It isnt the first to enable this type of encryption, but WhatsApp is the largest and most prominent messaging service to do so. Other privacy-focused messaging apps include Cyberdust, which has not exactly taken off in popularity. Often the inconvenience of signing up for yet another service and convincing your friends to switch just isnt worth it.

Its unclear if the encryption will come to the WhatsApp iOS app. It would certainly be welcome, though it's not quite as necessary: iMessage already uses an encryption method that prevents stores and sends messages in an encrypted fashion, and prevents Apple from being able to decrypt them.

Why this matters: WhatsApp is the largest messaging service to adopt end-to-end encryption. It has over 600 million users across its Android and iOS apps. The demand for privacy is on the rise, as companies are loathe to hand over data to government agencies. While theres never a 100 percent guarantee that even the highest level of security cant be cracked, this could attract even more people to check out WhatsApp.

Derek Walter

Derek Walter is a freelance technology writer based in Northern California. He is the author of Learning MIT App Inventor, a hands-on guide to building your own Android apps.

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WhatsApp adding end-to-end encryption to message service

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- WhatsApp began switching hundreds of millions of users to a nearly uncrackable encryption system.

WhatsApp, considered one of the world's most popular cross-platform messaging apps, partnered with Open WhisperSystems to use the company's TextSecure protocol to incorporate the system for the millions of Android users. It is unclear when the rollout will happen on other platforms, including Apple's iOS.

The upgraded encryption, what some are calling the world's most comprehensive data-security system for a messaging service. is said to make messages more secure than ever. WhatsApp messages will now be encrypted from the sender to the recipient, rather than between the user's device and the WhatsApp server. WhatsApp said it will make it almost impossible for anyone to crack the data, including themselves.

Privacy experts told the Washington Post the encryption will aid some and handicap others. It will allow WhatsApp's more than 500 million worldwide users to have completely private conversations. But it might also hinder certain investigations, law enforcement said. Earlier this year, FBI Director James B. Comey criticized Apple and Google for developing secure encryption services that are difficult to breach.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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WhatsApp introduces upgraded data encryption for millions of Andriod users

Facebook Inc. (FB)s WhatsApp is adding encryption so messages cant be deciphered when stored or traveling between devices, boosting efforts by technology companies to thwart snooping by hackers and government spies.

WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook for $22 billion this year, is working with startup Open Whisper Systems to enact the change, the companies said today. Open Whisper Systems said in a blog post that it has been working on encryption with the mobile-messaging service for the past six months.

A WhatsApp representative declined to comment beyond confirming the encryption.

Google Inc. and Apple Inc., among other technology companies, have also recently expanded their use of encryption on mobile communications. The moves have drawn praise from privacy advocates and criticism from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies for potentially hindering criminal investigations. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director James Comey are among those who have said that they glean essential information from the contents of phones seized in criminal investigations.

The expanding use of encryption is part of a backlash among technology companies to leaked documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, which showed the U.S.s widespread spying on digital communications. Doubts about the security of their technologies could cause U.S. companies to forgo as much as $35 billion in revenue through 2016, according to the Washington-based Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a policy research group.

WhatsApp has said that after being acquired by Facebook, its opinion on the importance of its users data privacy wouldnt be compromised. Chief Executive Officer Jan Koum has recounted memories of growing up in Ukraine and the Soviet Union during the 1980s, and the fear that every form of communication would be monitored by the KGB.

Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA, and we built WhatsApp around the goal of knowing as little about you as possible, Koum wrote in March.

Encryption isnt fail-safe. While popular Internet services are using encryption to shield user data from outsiders, they are generally retaining the ability for themselves to scan the contents of e-mails, text messages, search queries and other information for use in targeted marketing.

Apple and Google have gone a step further recently with their encryption, saying new versions of smartphones that use the iOS and Android software will automatically encrypt data and make it impossible for the companies themselves to decipher photos, contact lists and other files.

Authorities may still be able to retrieve e-mails, text messages and other data transmitted between devices through court orders. The FBIs Comey said last month that providers of new communications services should create a front door way for investigators to intercept data.

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WhatsApp Encrypts User Messages Following Google, Apple

Some Android WhatsApp users already have access to encrypted texts, but more platforms will be supported soon.

WhatsApp is boosting security with end-to-end encryption.

The popular messaging app teamed up with Open Whisper Systems to implement its TextSecure protocol. Some Android WhatsApp users may already be sending encrypted texts; the most recent update for the Google mobile platform includes support for TextSecure. Group chat and media messages are not yet covered, but are next on the list.

The companies are also working on support for more clients, including Apple's iOS. Users can expect a slow deployment, however, as WhatsApp runs on "an incredible number of mobile platforms," Open Whisper Systems said in a blog post.

"We have a ways to go until all mobile platforms are fully supported, but we are moving quickly toward a world where all WhatsApp users will get end-to-end encryption by default," the firm said.

WhatsApp could use the security boost; the messaging service took a hit earlier this month, when the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reported that only six mobile applications passed its security test, and WhatsApp was not one of them.

In fact, of the seven features EFF said an app needs to be truly secure, WhatsApp only had two: encryption in transit and a recent code audit.

"WhatsApp deserves enormous praise for devoting considerable time and effort to this project," Open Whisper Systems said. "Even though we're still at the beginning of the rollout, we believe this already represents the largest deployment of end-to-end encrypted communication in history."

WhatsApp declined to comment further.

Meanwhile, if you just can't wait for the updated security, try one of EFF's top-rated apps: ChatSecure + Orbot, Cryptocat, RedPhone, Silent Phone, Silent Text, or TextSecure.

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WhatsApp Rolling Out End-to-End Encryption

Let's Encrypt is a new non-profit that will offer websites free server certificates beginning in summer 2015.

Encryption is a popular buzzword these days. Apple and Google are doing it (much to the chagrin of the feds), but high-tech Web security should not be limited to the wealthiest tech firms, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

EFF is teaming with Mozilla, Cisco, Akamai, and others for "Let's Encrypt," a new non-profit that will offer websites free server certificates beginning in summer 2015.

Encrypting the traffic that flows across your site makes it more secure and less susceptible to interception. But it's expensive and complicated to implement.

Encrypted sites need server certificates, which prove "that the server you're actually talking to is the server you intended to talk to," according to the group. "For many server operators, getting even a basic server certificate is just too much of a hassle. The application process can be confusing. It usually costs money. It's tricky to install correctly. It's a pain to update."

That's where Let's Encrypt comes in. It will provide free certificates with automatic renewal, as well as publicly available records of all certificate issuance and revocation.

The California-based Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) will oversee the project and help group members build the necessary infrastructure for the project and the 2015 launch. Let's Encrypt is also calling on you for assistance. "Let's Encrypt is a community-driven effort, so please consider helping out," it said. "Our code and protocol specs are available on GitHub."

"This project should boost everyday data protection for almost everyone who uses the Internet," EFF Technology Projects Director Peter Eckersley said in a statement. "Right now when you use the Web, many of your communicationsyour user names, passwords, and browsing historiesare vulnerable to hackers and others. By making it easy, fast, and free for websites to install encryption for their users, we will all be safer online."

The news comes shortly after CloudFlare announced Universal SSL, which will provide encrypted connections to its customers, including the 2 million that use the free version.

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Want Free Encryption for Your Site? You're in Luck

CelleXo - Encryption (Original Mix)
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CelleXo - Encryption (Original Mix) - Video

ENCRYPTION SHOULD BEa matter of priority and used by default. That's the message from the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), the worldwide body in charge of the internet's technology infrastructure.

The IAB warned in a statement that "the capabilities and activities of attackers are greater and more pervasive than previously known".

It goes on to say: "The IAB urges protocol designers to design for confidential operation by default. We strongly encourage developers to include encryption in their implementations, and to make them encrypted by default.

"We similarly encourage network and service operators to deploy encryption where it is not yet deployed, and we urge firewall policy administrators to permit encrypted traffic."

The purpose, the IAB claims, is to instill public trust in the internet after the myriad high-profile cases in which computer traffic has been intercepted, ranging from bank details to email addresses and all points in between.

The news will be unwelcome to the security services, which have repeatedly objected to initiatives such as the default encryption in iOS8 and Android L, claiming that it is in the interest of the population to retain the right to intercept data for the prevention of terrorism.

However, leaked information, mostly from files appropriated by rogue NSA contractor Edward Snowden, suggests that the right of information interception is abused by security services including the UK's GCHQ.

These allegations include the collection of irrelevant data, the investigation of cold cases not in the public interest, and the passing of pictures of nude ladies to colleagues.

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Encryption should be the norm, says internet overlord

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Beginner's guide to SSL certificates

The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) has called for encryption to become the norm for all internet traffic.

Last Friday, the IAB issued a statement saying that since there is no single place in the Internet protocol stack that offers the chance to protect all kinds of communication, encryption must be adopted throughout the protocol stack.

The statement reflects earlier, more piecemeal moves in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to start spook-proofing the Internet.

Rather than looking at a particular protocol proposal, the IAB statement is designed to lay down a fundamental principle for designers: encryption, the board says, should be the norm for Internet traffic.

Encryption should be authenticated where possible, but even protocols providing confidentiality without authentication are useful in the face of pervasive surveillance.

The statement strengthens a long-held view within the Internet Engineering Task Force articulated in 1986 in RFC 1984, which stated that government policies to monitor the Internet are against the interests of consumers and the business community, are largely irrelevant to issues of military security, and provide only marginal or illusory benefit to law enforcement agencies.

This year, RFC 7258, described pervasive monitoring as an attack.

Even where a protocol's own operation doesn't need encryption, the IAB wants protocol designers to think beyond their immediate problem, because information leaked by one protocol can be made part of a more substantial body of information by cross-correlation.

In other worlds, even if a protocol doesn't particularly deal with user traffic, such as one handling negotiations between routers, its designers should adopt encryption to ensure it doesn't reveal information that does somehow compromise privacy.

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EVERYTHING needs crypto says Internet Architecture Board