WhatsApp yet to fix flaws that allow messages manipulation

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Even as rumours on WhatsApp have been linked to dozens of deaths in India, the Facebook-owned messaging app is yet to address a security flaw pointed out a year ago by Check Point, an Israeli security software firm. According to security researchers, this vulnerability could be exploited in three ways, all of which involve social engineering tactics to fool end-users.

First, a bad actor could use the “quote” feature in a group conversation to change the identity of the sender, even if that person is not a member of the group. Second, he/she could alter the text of someone else’s reply, essentially putting words in their mouth.

Third, a private message could be sent to a group participant disguised as a public message and when the targeted individual responds it becomes visible to everyone in the conversation.

Check Point informed WhatsApp in 2018 about the vulnerabilities, which would enable threat actors to intercept and manipulate messages sent in both private and group conversations, giving attackers power to create and spread misinformation from what appears to be trusted sources.