Rest of the Day: WhatsApp Really Doesn’t Have a Secret Backdoor
Earlier today, The Guardian reported that WhatsApp has a critical flaw that could potentially allow attacker-in-the-middle attacks to decrypt encrypted messages. But that’s not entirely true, because encryption software is designed to work that way. About this and much more in today’s news.
- The problem occurs when WhatsApp generates new security keys. On Gizmodo, reporter William Turton explains: “The alleged ‘backdoor’ that the Guardian describes is actually a function that works as it should, and it will take active collaboration with Facebook to track and intercept someone’s encrypted messages. the company is highly unlikely. ” In short, nothing new. [Gizmodo]
- Facebook made this less obvious when the post was edited. You can still access the edit history, but it only shows up in the drop-down menu of other options. It’s okay to be honest; While you can troll people by editing after the fact, this is usually done simply to correct stupid typos. [Mashable]
- App.net is closing. Remember App.net? It was an ad-free social network launched in 2012 as an alternative to Twitter and Facebook. The site will close on March 14, but the source code will be posted on GitHub. [App.net]
- SnapChat adds search. You will be able to search for friends, groups, stories from publishers, which will let your parents and colleagues know what you are doing. There is also a new feature called Our Story, which will allow SnapChat to use your snapshots in their carefully curated stories, if you allow them. [TechCrunch]
- Amazon has a new video-on-demand anime channel. You can subscribe to it on Amazon Prime Video just like you can watch HBO or Showtime on the site (for a fee). An anime channel called Anime Strike costs $ 4.99 a month and is Amazon’s first attempt at creating a channel of its own. [TechCrunch]