WhatsApp confirms that the security flaw which was found, allowed attackers to install spy software on their targets devices.
Following this huge story how many of the applications customers are still feeling safe?
Well the spy software, having gained a path into the software, had means to read messages on the application itself despite the end to end encryption. This means that when a message is to leave a senders device it is scrambled, however, as the software was already on the device it could bypass this, both upon delivery and receipt.
Ultimately though, all applications could contain a security vulnerability that leaves a phone open to hackers.
Facebook the owners of WhatsApp are very good in their response time to security alerts such as the one which was uncovered 2 weeks ago. No matter what application provider you use, there will always be a hacker that wants to give it a go.
WhatsApp have released the update which solves this risk, but there will always be more risks to come.
This does raise more questions than it answers, does the law need to change? Perhaps the answer is harsher punishment on those who commit these crimes? Do we need to take more care over applications we download?
One thing we know for sure is that we aren’t going to see a mass walkout on WhatsApp right now, but they need to keep their users aware when flaws like this are discovered.