The fact that we use WhatsApp every day as part of our routine does not mean that it is not without risks, dangers, and malware. It is an application whose messages are end-to-end encrypted so any conversation we have is safe and no one can read it except the sender and receiver of it. That is, you and the person or people who are in that chat. The rest cannot have messages. But there is CatchApp, a tool that jeopardizes the application’s privacy and promises to decrypt WhatsApp messages.
Surely you have ever wondered if someone can read your WhatsApp messages if they intercept your mobile phone or even from the company itself. No. Not even the application itself would have access to your private conversations, but an interceptor, a tool is capable of doing it. Although CatchApp promises to do so, it is not easy to decipher WhatsApp messages and we tell you everything you need to know about them, what are the risks of trying them or what options are there.
How does end-to-end encryption work?
Before we begin, let’s see how end-to-end encryption works for messages used by WhatsApp. As WhatsApp explains, its encryption system is based on the same TextSecure used by other privacy-focused instant messaging apps such as Signal or RedPhone.
This system is based on the use of unique and individual keys that correspond to a user. These keys are stored on the user’s phone and not on the service’s servers. In general terms, only the sender and receiver of the message can decrypt it and they are only responsible for transmitting it, but they do not have any type of access to it. WhatsApp uses three keys to perform the encryption : the first identifies the device, the second is generated automatically and signed through the first key and the third is created automatically and is deleted the same with each of the messages sent through WhatsApp.
CatchApp
CatchApp is an Israeli surveillance device that was born a few years ago, became popular in 2016, and whose creators claim that it is capable of extracting any WhatsApp conversation even if it is encrypted and could later decrypt it to know what you say or send.
It would be a tool that can be hidden in a backpack to access conversations. It is not an application or software but a device created by Wintgo to read and decrypt WhatsApp messages without the victim knowing. The tool is just one more in a Wintego hack “package” that would have been called WINT. In this case, CatchApp is specialized in the messaging application, but there are other options and tools that could collect all types of content, as collected at the time from Forbes, such as emails, calendars, photographs or credentials.
MITM attack
How? Basically what CatchApp does is create a fake Wi-Fi access point that we would connect to and collect all the traffic that passes through that point. The disadvantage of using the tool is that it would need to be “close” to the phone that it wants to intercept, but the advantage is that it is an effective tool that promises to do so in real time, which would be especially dangerous and effective.
To work, CatchApp performs a ‘man-in-the-middle’ (MITM) attack , one of the most frequent attacks and dangers on public WiFi . As is usual in these cases, what the tool does is that it will be placed in the center of communication and thus can access the messages of the messaging application even though the WhatsApp encryption algorithm avoids it in most cases. . If the tool works as reported in Forbes magazine, it would not be infallible.
According to the company, it would work to decrypt WhatsApp messages on iOS and Android and in versions that are as current as possible, although the tool has not spoken since 2016 and we will have to wait to see if it is put into action or if it is used by the best hackers the world to access our conversations.
How to prevent my WhatsApp messages from being decrypted
WhatsApp is a secure tool so you should not worry, frequently, that they will read your conversations. WhatsApp’s encryption algorithm ensures that messages are end-to-end encrypted and with few exceptions, such as CatchApp, you will not have any problem. There are some tips that you can avoid so that WhatsApp does not hack you or so that your messages do not read, very basic tips that do not involve any effort and that will allow us to be somewhat more protected:
- Avoid public WiFi networks that you can access without a password because they are usually a good way to attack your mobile phone or steal your data. If you have no choice but to use them, go for a VPN to do so.
- Do not give anyone your WhatsApp verification code even if they ask for it and be wary of emails or applications that are going to ask for it. Nobody needs it and only you will need it when you log into your application if you uninstall or change your phone, but no application can ask you.
- Be careful with WhatsApp Web since you can leave it open on a shared computer (jobs, coffee shops …) and someone will be able to read all your conversations. Go to the WhatsApp Web section on your mobile and close all sessions to make sure that you have not left anything open on any computer or other type of device.
- Activate and protect chats with a password so that no one can access them or decrypt WhatsApp messages when they access your mobile phone.
How to decrypt WhatsApp messages
Although this CatchApp tool promises to be able to read messages , you should not try it with any of the Google Play or App Store applications that promise to do so because most of them will be a scam that leads to malware or future problems: bans, viruses, scams. There are many tools and applications that we find in the different marketplaces of operating systems that promise us miracles on WhatsApp, such as knowing what messages our contacts send or having unthinkable functions in the application.
These applications usually have a double danger: on the one hand, they are a scam and are usually a perfect gateway to malware on your mobile phone, so you run a risk and on top of that they will not work. On the other hand, WhatsApp mods are one of the main reasons why the messaging application bans its users so you could be without WhatsApp forever for going against its rules.
In addition, there is no reason why you can read or want to read private messages from another person so you better forget to do it at home because there are more risks and dangers involved than the advantages you can get.
