9 Ways Your WhatsApp Messages Can Be Hacked

Think WhatsApp's message encryption makes it secure? Here are several ways your WhatsApp can be hacked.

 

WhatsApp is a popular and easy to use messaging app. It has some security features, like the use of end-to-end encryption, which tries to keep your messages private. However, as good as these security measures are, WhatsApp still isn't immune to hacks, which can end up compromising the privacy of your messages and contacts.

As knowing is half the battle, if we are simply aware of vulnerabilities, we can then take concrete steps to avoid comprising ourselves. To that end, here are a few ways that WhatsApp can be hacked.

1. Remote Code Execution via GIF

In October 2019, security researcher Awakened revealed a vulnerability in WhatsApp that let hackers take control of the app using a GIF image. The hack works by taking advantage of the way WhatsApp processes images when the user opens the Gallery view to send a media file.

When this happens, the app parses the GIF to show a preview of the file. GIF files are special because they have multiple encoded frames. This means that code can be hidden within the image.

If a hacker were to send a malicious GIF to a user, they could compromise the user's entire chat history. The hackers would be able to see who the user had been messaging and what they had been saying. They could also see users' files, photos, and videos sent through WhatsApp.

The vulnerability affected versions of WhatsApp up to 2.19.230 on Android 8.1 and 9. Fortunately, Awakened disclosed the vulnerability responsibly and Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, patched the issue. To keep yourself safe from this problem, you should always keep WhatsApp updated.

2. The Pegasus Voice Call Attack

Another WhatsApp vulnerability discovered in early 2019 was the Pegasus voice call hack.

This scary attack allowed hackers to access a device simply by placing a WhatsApp voice call to their target. Even if the target didn't answer the call, the attack could still be effective. And the target may not even be aware that malware has been installed on their device.

This worked through a method known as buffer overflow. This is where an attack deliberately puts in heaps of code into a small buffer so that it "overflows" and writes code into a location it shouldn't be able to access. When the hacker can run code in a location that should be secure, they can take malicious steps.

This attack installed an older and well-known piece of spyware called Pegasus. This allowed hackers to collect data on phone calls, messages, photos, and video. It even let them activate devices' cameras and microphones to take recordings.

This vulnerability is applicable on Android, iOS, Windows 10 Mobile, and Tizen devices. Most recently, it was used by the Israeli firm, NSO Group, which has been accused of spying on Amnesty International staff and other human rights activists. After news of the hack broke, WhatsApp was updated to protect it from this attack.

If you are running WhatsApp version 2.19.134 or earlier on Android or version 2.19.51 or earlier on iOS, then you need to update your app immediately.

3. Socially Engineered Attacks

Another way that WhatsApp is vulnerable is through socially engineered attacks, which exploit human psychology to steal information or spread misinformation.

A security firm called Check Point Research revealed one example of this attack, which they named FakesApp. This allowed people to misuse the quote feature in group chat and to alter the text of another person's reply. Essentially, hackers could plant fake statements that appear to be from other legitimate users.

The researchers could do this by decrypting WhatsApp communications. This allowed them to see data sent between the mobile and the web versions of WhatsApp.

And from here, they could change values in group chats. Then they could impersonate other people, sending messages which appeared to be from them. They could also change the text of replies.

This could be used in worrying ways to spread scams or fake news. Even though the vulnerability was disclosed in 2018, it had still not been patched by the time the researchers spoke at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas in 2019, according to ZNet.

Related: How to Recognize And Avoid WhatsApp Spam

4. Media File Jacking

Media File Jacking affects both WhatsApp and Telegram. This attack takes advantage of the way apps receive media files like photos or videos and write those files to a device's external storage.

The attack starts by installing malware hidden inside an apparently harmless app. This can then monitor incoming files for Telegram or WhatsApp. When a new file comes in, the malware may swap out the real file for a fake one.

Symantec, the company that discovered the issue, suggests it could be used to scam people or to spread fake news.

There is a quick fix for this issue, though. Using WhatsApp, you should look in Settings and go to Chat Settings. Then find the Save to Gallery option and make sure it is set to Off. This will protect you from this vulnerability. However, a true fix for the issue will require app developers to entirely change the way that apps handle media files in the future.

5. Facebook Could Spy on WhatsApp Chats

 

In an official blog post, WhatsApp asserted that because of its end-to-end encryption, it is impossible for Facebook to read WhatsApp content:

"When you and the people you message are using the latest version of WhatsApp, your messages are encrypted by default, which means you're the only people who can read them. Even as we coordinate more with Facebook in the months ahead, your encrypted messages stay private and no one else can read them. Not WhatsApp, not Facebook, nor anyone else."

However, according to developer Gregorio Zanon, this is not strictly true. The fact that WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption does not mean all messages are private. On an operating system like iOS 8 and above, apps can access files in a "shared container."

Both the Facebook and WhatsApp apps use the same shared container on devices. And while chats are encrypted when they are sent, they are not necessarily encrypted on the originating device. This means the Facebook app could potentially copy information from WhatsApp.

To be clear, there is no evidence that Facebook has used shared containers to view private WhatsApp messages. But the potential is there. Even with end-to-end encryption, your messages may not be private from the all-capturing net of Facebook. 

Related: What Are Encrypted Messaging Apps? Are They Really Safe?

6. Paid Third-Party Apps

You'd be surprised how many paid legal apps have sprung up in the market, which solely exist for hacking into secure systems.

This could be done by big corporations working hand-in-hand with oppressive regimes to target activists and journalists; or by cyber criminals, intent on getting your personal information.

Apps like Spyzie and mSPY can easily hack into your WhatsApp account for stealing your private data.

All you need to do is purchase the app, install it, and activate it on the target phone. You can then simply sit back and connect to your app dashboard from the web browser, and snoop in on private WhatsApp data like messages, contacts, status, etc. But obviously, we advise against anyone actually doing this!

Related: Best Free Facebook Messenger Alternatives

7. Fake WhatsApp Clones

 

Using fake websites clones for installing malware is an old hacking strategy still implemented by cyber criminals all over the world. These clone sites are known as malicious websites.

The hacking tactic has now also been adopted for breaking into Android systems. To hack into your WhatsApp account, an attacker will first try to install a clone of WhatsApp, which might look strikingly similar to the original app.

Take the case of the WhatsApp Pink scam, for instance. A clone of the original WhatsApp, it claims to change the standard green WhatsApp background to pink. Here's how it works.

An unsuspecting user receives a link to download the WhatsApp Pink app for changing the background color of their app. And even though it really does change the background color of your app to pink, as soon as you install the app, it will start collecting data not just from your WhatsApp but also from everything else stored on your phone.

8. WhatsApp Web

WhatsApp Web is a neat tool for someone who spends most of their day on a PC. It provides the ease of accessibility to WhatsApp users, as they won't have to pick up their phone again and again for messaging. The big screen and keyboard provides an overall better user experience too.

Here's the caveat, though. As handy as the web version is, it can be easily used to hack into your WhatsApp chats. This danger arises when you're using the WhatsApp Web on someone else's computer.

So if the owner of the computer has selected the keep me signed in box during login, then your WhatsApp account will stay signed-in even after you close the browser.

The computer owner can then access your information without much difficulty.

You can avoid this by making sure that you log out from WhatsApp Web before you leave.

But as they say, prevention is better than cure. The best approach is to avoid using anything other than your personal computer for the web version of WhatsApp altogether.

9. Exporting Your Chats

 

While some of the methods we've discussed above are really elaborate, and some just capitalize on blank spots in the human psyche, this one simply requires physical access to your smartphone.

And no, the hacker doesn't need a lot of time with your phone, either; just a few seconds is enough. This gives them enough time to export your messages to a location they can later access. It could be anything: an email account, cloud storage, or even a messaging app.

Once a hacker has access to your phone, all they have to do is move to a specific chat, click on the Export chat option and select the location they'd like to move your message history to.

The solution? The ironclad way to protect yourself is to keep your phone away from unfamiliar hands at all times. Furthermore, you have the option to enable fingerprint lock for your WhatsApp. Head to Accounts > Privacy > Fingerprint lock. There, toggle the Unlock with fingerprint option on, and set the lock activation to Immediately.

Now, every time your WhatsApp is picked up after inactivity, your fingerprints will be required to launch the app.

Stay Aware of Security Issues in WhatsApp

These are just a few examples of how your WhatsApp can be hacked. While WhatsApp has patched some of these issues since their disclosure, some weak spots persist, so it's important to stay vigilant. To learn more about whether WhatsApp is safe, you need to brush up your knowledge of WhatsApp security threats. So, always keep yourself updated!