Is your WhatsApp secure? Twitter cries foul on Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams ‘hacking’ saga
The department of communications and technologies released a statement on Monday, explaining that the minister of the portfolio, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams had her WhatsApp account hacked.
"Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams WhatsApp account HACKED!!! The WhatsApp account of Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has been hacked, resulting in private and confidential information being in the hands of a third party," the department said in a tweet.
https://twitter.com/CommsZA/status/1313044739051192320
However, the reaction to the tweet was mixed, with several Twitter users commenting that it was ironic the minister of that particular department would be hacked.
"She should have known not to share sensitive information via Whatsapp, knowing that it could be easily hacked.. Just goes to show that she acted careless on her part. She is making that department look like a joke!!" one Twitter user said.
https://twitter.com/S0L0M0N_GRUNDY/status/1313056391322460160
https://twitter.com/watchdog_za/status/1313065103324049408
https://twitter.com/Skaapchop/status/1313131038638571522
https://twitter.com/RedRang46111355/status/1313057574980382720
According to WhatsApp, it installed end to end encryption technology on the application, making it close to impossible for the messaging platform to be hacked.
"WhatsApp end-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you're communicating with can read what's sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp. Your messages are secured with locks, and only the recipient and you have the special keys needed to unlock and read your messages.
"For added protection, every message you send has an unique lock and key. All of this happens automatically: No need to turn on settings or set up special secret chats to secure your messages. End-to-end encryption is always activated. There's no way to turn off end-to-end encryption," the technology giant said.
About sharing information with law enforcement agencies, WhatApp stated it reviews requests before co-operating with them.
"We carefully review, validate and respond to law enforcement requests based on applicable law and policy, and we prioritize responses to emergency requests."