WhatsApp is the go-to app for security. With end-to-end encryption, users feel confident that their private conversations will stay just that: private. In today’s day and age – the cyber generation, so to speak – you cannot be too careful.
Anything that you put online is vulnerable. The things you want to stay private on the internet are about as public as your social media profile picture (so in other words, very public).
This is why users flock to apps like WhatsApp. If you’re going to message your friends with top secret information, you might as well do it on a service that offers some form of encryption. After all, Facebook is spying on us . . . right?
Well, as it turns out, WhatsApp might not be as secure in the future thanks to Austrian law enforcement. It’s no mystery that WhatsApp can be used to discuss criminal activities. This is exactly why the app is suddenly vulnerable to exploitation.
“At a Ministry of Justice meeting in Austria, Mag. Konrad Kogler, Director General for Public Security, spoke of law enforcement’s nearing ability to intercept and decrypt WhatsApp messages. He explained the difficulties even caused police, especially in cases of terrorism and drug trafficking.”
According to Kogler, a mass-ban on encryption is the answer to all of our cyber-security related problems. Kogler claims that by getting rid of the option to encrypt, many current and upcoming criminal issues in Austria will be solved.
On the BMI website, the release was presented as follows: “The police will be able to decrypt WhatsApp messages in the future.” While the need for fighting terrorism in new and effective ways is clear, Austrian chancellor Christian Kern believes the progression also needs to include “the basic freedom of citizens”.