Although the application of free calls over the Internet seemed to have started the year well after its purchased by the Chinese giant Rakuten, its users will not be as happy after learning that the shared content through of Viber do not have any type of protection That is, they are vulnerable and can be seen by third parties in case they are intercepted.A setback for the privacy of this free calling and messaging app.
This was reported by the media outlet Tecnoexplora, giving credit to Spanish researchers Pablo San Emeterio and Jaime Sánchez, well known in the world of security after reporting problems with other applications such as WhatsApp or the media Snapchat And they have found a important vulnerability in the operation of the service offered Viber, discovering that does not encrypt, encrypt or protect with any type of password or code of any kind the contents sent through the application between users.
This issue can lead to the theft of information such as photos and videos sent or received by users of the application.A complete violation of privacy, always taking into account that said connections are captured by a third party In addition, along with the photos and videos there would also be the locations Those messages that indicate the user's current position with geolocation data Questions that can be used for any misdeeds, blackmail and other issues.
Of course, it must be taken into account that to do so, said communications must be intercepted, which means that a person has the tools and knowledge necessary to do so Something that, thanks to the Internet, is not entirely difficult and that generally occurs through connections Public Wi-Fi A point in where users can communicate but where hackers have the ability to intercept such messages.
At the moment Viber has not ruled on the matter, so we will have to wait to see if it decides to take action before the discovery of the Spanish security specialists. An issue that can do a lot of damage to your number of users due to the importance that privacy is acquiring after the news and espionage scandals from different governments and social services. And it is that users do not want anyone to be aware of their conversations or the content they exchange, despite not being the main current communication tool.
Therefore, it is best to share content through a private mobile network Either the WiFi from home or, preferably, the Internet data connection of the mobile operator on duty. A setback for an application that seemed to have set out on a new and good path after its purchase by the company Rakuten for a total of 900 million dollarsA price that does not match that of the purchase of WhatsApp but that raises a new horizon from the hand of a company that aspires to become the “world's number one Internet service company”
