They discover how to manipulate WhatsApp messages
That WhatsApp is not the most secure messaging application in the world is something that should not surprise any user. And it is that it is a tool created step by step, step by step, and need after need. Something that started as a mere moods tool for the contacts list, and has ended up being the application of most crowded chat room in the world Issues that have brought with them dangers such as phishing, the information theft and, now also, the possibility of manipulating messages received without leaving a trace of the processSomething that should not alert the average user too much, but which is another clear symptom that it is a tool created with patches, and certainly not the safest for use in the judicial field .
Thus, it was the engineer and computer expert from the College of Computer Engineers of Madrid, Javier Rubio, who discovered the fact on this occasion. This is the possibility of modifying the content of a message received or sent Something that is far from the interception of messages that put the application at risk some time ago, but which is aggravated by the impossibility of detecting the modification procedure A fact that cannot be discovered not even by computer experts A very important point in the field judicial, where messages from WhatsAppare a regular part of reporting processes
The process is far from simple and suitable for any user. First of all you have to have a terminal Android with ROOT access A tool that allows all kinds of extra options that are not offered as standard, also losing the guarantee of the terminal. Along with this, it is necessary to have the necessary programs and knowledge with which to access the database of the mobile phone that is going to be manipulated. Issues that are related step by step in Javier Rubio's blog for those who want to delve deeper into the subject.
The key is that WhatsApp does not protect the original database where messages are stored recently sent or received In this way, if the terminal is rooted (ROOT access), it is possible to use a tool in Windows to access its contents through a more or less process ElaboratedThus, from a computer, it is not only possible to see all these messages, but also manipulate them by changing their information That is, change what a says message sent or received, or even create others that did not exist previously
In this way, WhatsApp would lose its value testimonial before judicial processes, where there is already jurisprudence in this regard And it is necessary that a collegiate computer expert verify that the messages provided as tests have not been modified. But how to do it if there is a method that prevents detecting the steps carried out for manipulation?
Of course WhatsApp is still really useful and accepted all over the world, but it seems to have a very hard time breaking into thepublic institutions, as the Minister of Justice wanted a few months ago.Or even to serve as evidence before a judge
