Telegram CEO Criticises WhatsApp Over Encryption Claims, Security Backdoors

Messaging app Telegram's founder Pavel Durov has launched a scathing attack on rival WhatsApp alleging that the latter's systems are not as secure as made out to be.

In a blogpost titled 'Why using WhatsApp is dangerous', Durov said WhatsApp marketed end-to-end encryption as some magic incantation that alone is supposed to automatically make all communications secure. "However, this technology is not a silver bullet that can guarantee you absolute privacy by itself," he said.

WhatsApp declined to comment to the allegations levelled by Durov.

Durov claimed that Telegram's 'Secret Chats' is significantly more secure than any competing means of communication.

"Don't let yourself be fooled by the tech equivalent of circus magicians who'd like to focus your attention on one isolated aspect all while performing their tricks elsewhere. They want you to think about end-to-end encryption as the only thing you have to look at for privacy. The reality is much more complicated," the executive wrote.

Referring to the alleged hacking of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos' phone, Durov said last week it became clear that backdoor - which had been flagged by him a few months ago - had been exploited to extract private communications and photos of Jeff Bezos "who unfortunately relied on WhatsApp".

"Given the gravity of the situation, one would expect Facebook/WhatsApp to apologise and pledge not to plant backdoors in their apps going forward. Instead, they announced that Apple, not WhatsApp, was to blame," he said.

Facebook's Vice President claimed that iOS, rather than WhatsApp, had been hacked. Durov argued that while he was not an Apple fanboy, the issue of backdoor in this particular case was not related to iOS device, but rather a WhatsApp-specific matter.

"Had Jeff Bezos relied on Telegram instead of WhatsApp, he wouldn't have been blackmailed by people who compromised his communications," he claimed.

Telegram had rolled out end-to-end encryption for mass communication years before WhatsApp followed suit, he said adding that his platform had been mindful not only of the strengths, but also the limitations of this technology.

Other aspects of a messaging app can render end-to-end encryption useless, Durov claimed.

The Telegram CEO claimed that enforcement agencies are not too happy with encryption, and often force app developers to secretly plant vulnerabilities in their apps.

"I know that because we've been approached by some of them – and refused to cooperate. As a result, Telegram is banned in some countries where WhatsApp has no issues with authorities, most suspiciously in Russia and Iran," he said.

Durov said his statements are not based on personal preference but rather on facts that are verifiable and supported by the third-party sources.

"When it comes to security, nobody should take anybody's word for granted," he said. PTI SR MBI

WhatsApp Partners with Indian School of Public Policy

WhatsApp on Wednesday said it has partnered with Indian School of Public Policy to help future policy makers understand importance of privacy-centric design in product development, even as the app faces pressure from India to bring in traceability of fake message originators.

The partnership was announced by WhatsApp Global Head Will Cathcart during a discussion with Indian startups and entrepreneurs in Mumbai.

During the session, Cathcart discussed how designing products with privacy as a key principle is critical for building successful consumer and business products.

"...we're committed to helping people in India have private conversations with others that matter to them. We believe our partnership with ISPP will help future policy makers understand that designing products with privacy as a core tenet helps deliver the fundamental right to privacy people should have in today's digital world," Cathcart said.

Last year, fake news circulated on WhatsApp incited mob fury that led to the lynching of over a dozen people across India. The Indian government has asked WhatsApp - which has over 200 million users in India - to devise ways to identify message originators to trace the origin of fake messages circulated on its platform.

The Facebook-owned company, on its part, has maintained that doing so will undermine end-to-end encryption and affect privacy protection for users.

Cathcart, who previously worked with Facebook and took over the role at WhatsApp from Chris Daniels, is scheduled to be present at an event around technology enabling digital inclusion with Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant on Thursday.

Under the partnership with ISPP, a series of privacy design workshops (co-hosted by TTC Labs) will be held. These workshops, aimed at future policy makers, will start from September 17.

Luis Miranda, Founder Director of Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP), said the changing Indian landscape will require leaders who can tackle its unique problems and begin to formulate creative solutions for the future.

"We are glad to be partnering with WhatsApp and TTC Labs to help our students better understand privacy centric product design so they can help create a robust policy ecosystem that creates positive impact for India," Miranda said. PTI SR

Indian Students Won the case Against WhatsApp Privacy Policy

Few days back, we reported that two Indian students - Shreya Sethi and Karmanya Singh Sareenhave had sued Facebook for WhatsApp's new privacy policy and asked for a complete rollback of the recent policy updates.

Now, in a recent update the two students have been successful in making the Facebook owned messaging service WhatsApp not to share its users' data with Facebook as it had initially planned.

While there was some initial resistance from WhatsApp, it finally decided to comply with Delhi high court's order to completely delete all the data of users who choose to opt out of it.

According to a spokesperson of the company,“WhatsApp will comply with the order from the Delhi High Court. We plan to proceed with the privacy policy and terms update in accordance with the Court’s order." In addition to this, the company also welcomed the Delhi High Court's emphasis on the importance of user content and choice. While WhatsApp agreed to comply with the HC order, it hasn't yet confirmed whether it has already deleted all the data or has at least started the process of deleting the data.

While on one hand WhatsApp hasn't given any details about the information deletion process. On the other hand, it is also important to note that even the HC hasn't specified any date by which the company should do away with the data.

According to the High Court's ruling, "If the users opt for completely deleting “WhatsApp” account before 25.09.2016, the information/data/details of such users should be W.P.(C) No.7663/2016 Page 15 of 15 deleted completely from “WhatsApp” servers and the same shall not be shared with the “Facebook” or any one of its group companies… So far as the users who opt to remain in “WhatsApp” are concerned, the existing information/data/details of such users upto 25.09.2016 shall not be shared with “Facebook” or any one of its group companies.”

The instant messaging app service which was in the news earlier this year for starting end-to-end encryption is looking to use its users' information, such as phone numbers, online status, log-records, etc with Facebook so as to improve their experience of the social networking platform.

Prior to the Delhi HC order, a division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal had said on 23rd September that WhatsApp will not be sharing its users' data collected under its old privacy policy over the years up to September 25, 2016, with its parent company Facebook or any other company related to it.

Last month, Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi, two Indian students, had filed a public-interest litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court asking for a complete rollback of the recent policy updates made by WhatsApp. They contested that Indian government needs to come up with its own guidelines for the various messaging apps being currently used in the country so that the privacy of millions of their users isn’t compromised.

The Delhi HC has asked WhatsApp to completely delete all the data of its users who choose to opt out of the instant messaging app after its new privacy policy came into force. The court has also asked WhatsApp to delete its users’ data up to 25th September 2016, including the ones who choose not to opt out of the instant messaging application and decide to comply with the new privacy policy.

It isn't just in India that WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook are facing trouble over their new data-sharing policy. They're also facing problem in Germany where the company's Privacy watchdog has ordered Facebook to delete whatever data it has received from WhatsApp till now. Unlike India, Germany has strict data privacy laws in play.

[Top Image - focal point / Shutterstock.com]

Two India Students Challenge Facebook on WhatsApp Privacy Policy

Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook has been challenged, and the challengers in this case are two Indian students -- Shreya Sethi and Karmanya Singh Sareen.

The duo is going after the social networking giant by filing a public-interest litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court asking for a complete rollback of the recent policy updates made by WhatsApp, the famous messaging service that Facebook owns. Sethi and Sareen want the Delhi High Court to order the Indian government to come up with its own guidelines for the various messaging apps being currently used in the market so that the privacy of millions of their users isn't on the line and compromised.

After receiving the PIL, the two-judge bench which is examining the petition has issued notices to WhatsApp, Facebook, the Indian government and India's telecommunications regulator, and has asked them to present their stand on the issue for the court.

WhatsApp, one of the most used messaging apps all around the world, recently revisited and revised its privacy policy so as to share the data of its users with Facebook and allow businesses to do more targeted advertising and direct messaging. The move isn't only facing resistance from India, but similar emotions have been evoked all around the world. In fact, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the European Union are currently carrying out a thorough examination so as to find out if Facebook has wronged the trust of billions of WhatsApp users. There has been also a news of a certain German consumer group considering to sue Facebook for its misdeed.

However, WhatsApp is maintaining that privacy changes announced last month, in August, are in total compliance with the law. According to the company, it's currently giving its users time to react to change, and in fact, the users even have an option of turning off data sharing with Facebook from within the app.

In a brief hearing in Delhi last week, WhatsApp had revealed that it has no intention of sharing any user content with its owner Facebook except their users names and phone numbers. It also stressed on the fact that the use of the app is completely voluntary.

According to the petition filed by the 19-year-old engineering student, Singh and 22-year-old Sethi, the recent privacy changes made by WhatsApp highly compromises with the security, safety and privacy of data that belongs to the app's users. It also states that “user consent” as a term holds no relevance in a county like India where majority of the users aren't equipped to read or understand the consequences of the privacy policy changes made by WhatsApp. The petitioners also claim that WhatsApp has been successful in building a substantial user base in India because of its assurance of complete privacy and hence, its recent changes are a complete breach of users’ trust.

It isn't the first time that WhatsApp has faced a lawsuit over user privacy and advertising. In fact, the company has quite a decorated past in this particular department. In a settlement with the FTC in the year 2011, the company had agreed that it would ask its users for permission before making changes to its privacy practices. The FTC is currently evaluating if the recent changes made by WhatsApp violate its 2011 agreement with the company.

It is interesting to note when Facebook acquired WhatsApp in the year 2014, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum had ensured that nothing would change in terms of privacy for its users.

In a blogpost around the recent privacy changes, WhatsApp had said, "Not WhatsApp, not Facebook, nor anyone else. We won’t post or share your WhatsApp number with others, including on Facebook, and we still won’t sell, share, or give your phone number to advertisers."

While no one can surely predict how will the case pan out, one thing is for sure, Facebook does have a lot at stake in India. Facebook currently has over 150 million users in the country, a figure second only to U.S. WhatsApp, on the hand, has over 70 million users in the country.

[Top Image - Shutterstock]