Apart from some details, the instant messaging service provider offering both is similar: sending text, pictures, voice messages and videos. But how safe is the transmission of data across these platforms
More and more people who use these tools to communicate. In June this year, and through a tweet, WhatsApp reported that processed 27,000 million texts daily. According to the specialists who handle numbers, this application is used by 300 million users.
For BlackBerry, talking about 60 million people. This company has a good reputation with regard to the protection of the communications made through their chat (BBM for short) and that from now on, will also be available for Android and Apple. WhatsApp, however, has not had a good track record on the issue.
The latest incident is related to the alleged vulnerability is due to the application that uses the same cryptographic code for messages that are sent and those received.
“WhatsApp is consumer-oriented, has grown rapidly and its technological implementation has been poor. BlackBerry has focused on businesses, which is why security is an important element in their offer,”
Dutch programmer Thijs Alkemade made public this discovery a few days ago. The company denied the charge, but is not the first time she finds herself in a similar situation. In the last two years reported at least five problems that could compromise the privacy of the messages exchanged.
Are rumors or WhatsApp is certainly more vulnerable than BBM?
“Since its launch, WhatsApp has had several flaws in the security system because of its cryptographic weaknesses, this makes the program more prone to hacker attacks.’s not something trivial, quite the contrary. Until 2012, for example, even keys used to encrypt messages, texts were simple, “he tells the BBC Michael Sutton, director of the security company Zscaler.
“Besides continuing Sutton-on-password mechanism used and the IMEI code (used to identify this phone anywhere in the world) is very simple, so anyone can take advantage of this gap.”
Speed ??or quality?
The difference between the two companies regarding the issue of security can be explained by considering the strategy, conception and the audience that both products are targeted.
“WhatsApp is oriented to the consumer, it has grown rapidly and in this way, technological implementation has been poor. BlackBerry has focused on businesses, which is why security is an important element in its offer a aspect not sacrificed even to increase their market share, “says Sutton.
With the launch of BBM App for Android and Apple, the company appears to be changing its philosophy and adapting to the current dynamics. The Canadian company claims, however, that to develop the product used the same code you have used so far, so that security would be one of the strengths of your new application.
But to verify, it will be necessary to test its new messaging system. As has just hit the shelves, there are not many details about how it works on operating systems other mobile phones.
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