How To Keep WhatsApp Safe From Hackers?

The concept of instant messaging crossed into the mainstream in the 1990s,

 

allowing friends acquaintances colleagues & like-minded thinkers from all over the world to connect in real time.

 

Also instant messaging has revolutionized how we communicate,

 

and today over a billion people are signed up for at least one messaging app,

 

the present instant messaging experience is seamless,

 

and it intuitively integrates features like

Video

Photos

Voice

Ecommerce and

Gaming with plain old messaging,

 

among these apps whatsapp has comfortably found its place among the most popular messaging platforms,

 

like everyone associated with the internet a matter of security is never far away,

 

considering the huge user base of this messaging app hackers are always on the lookout for compromised accounts to grab,

 

Today we are going to cover some of the ways we can protect our whatsapp account from falling into malicious hands,

 

1 – Why is Whatsapp Safety Essential?

2 – Guidelines to keep Whatsapp Secure

3 – What to Do if Whatsapp is Hacked?

 

1 – Why is Whatsapp Safety Essential?

 

In the year of 2020 the big news was about amazon ceo jeff bezos and his phone being hacked by saudi Arabia,

 

A report coming from the guardian suggested that bezos phone was hacked via a video file sent on whatsapp ,

 

the report said that bezos mobile phone was hacked by saudi arabian prince in the year 2018 and gigabyte's worth of data was stolen from the device,

 

while there are some issues being raised about the report which states with the medium to high confidence that jeff bezos phone was hacked it does raise a security fear for regular users,

 

after all if the phone of one of the world's most powerful men can be hacked the same can happen to any one of us as well,

 

when it comes to regular users we exchange messages with our loved ones regarding a paradigm of topics,

 

the information which may seem trivial initially can later function as ammunition for a campaign regarding identity theft,

 

basic information like preferred banks occasional dining places can go a long way in social engineering attacks,

 

further increasing the need for secure messaging habits,

 

its uses end-to-end encryption to protect all communication on its platform,

 

these encryption keys not only make it impossible to decrypt messages but they also prevent third parties and even whatsapp from accessing messages or calls,

 

but not entirely although end-to-end encryption makes whatsapp more secure than other communication apps no app is 100 safe to use,

 

like any application or digital device whatsapp is often targeted by bad actors,

 

it also has access to your contacts and tracks where and how long you use it,

 

putting your privacy & personal information at risk,

 

we all have access to our cell phones so it's no surprise that sms two factor authentication is one of the most widespread types of mfa available,

 

you don't need any apps or digital keys & it's not tied to a specific ecosystem,

 

unfortunately it's also not a secure multi-factor authentication method,

 

the nature of sms itself opens up your organization to a host of lists,

 

hackers may have many ways to leverage sms to find a way into your accounts and network,

 

be it via spoofed sim cards or message hijacking, whatsapp2fa using sms isn't a foolproof solution,

 

2 – Guidelines to keep Whatsapp Secure

 

1 – Avoid clicking on suspicious links

 

It is more than probable that one fine day you might receive a whatsapp message,

 

or even an sms that reads that your order is delayed please check its data here,

 

or your account is locked and please unlock it here,

 

or even some tempting messages like win free 3g and movie tickets here,

 

some of them may sound intimidating and,

 

some of them may be lucrative but they all have one purpose to trick you into clicking that link and once you do that it's already over,

 

it will install malware on your phone and you won't have a clue about it,

 

only when you start noticing that your phone bills are abnormally high or your bank account has been used without your permission the realization will dawn upon you that something is wrong with your phone,

 

but by also it may be too late.

 

2 - Check privacy Settings on Whatsapp

 

The messaging platform provides users with option to choose, who they want to share their profile photo status and other details with,

 

it's a good idea to change the settings to contacts only this means only phone numbers that are saved on your smartphone will be able to see your profile photo status phone number and auto delete status as well,

 

3 – Lock Whatsapp Screen

 

Make sure you enable the option to lock the screen every time whatsapp is closed,

 

This will ensure no one else but you can open your whatsapp account,

 

just head to the settings menu privacy and select the screen lock option you will then need to register your fingerprint after the process is completed you will have to overlook your point every time you open the whatsapp app,

 

this adds an extra layer of security.

 

4 – Use Two Factor Authentication

 

The two-step verification works as an extra layer of security and helps whatsapp users to protect their otps and documents shared through Whatsapp,

 

it's very easy to set up a pin to activate as 2 step verification,

 

users have to enter it periodically formely it’s activated.

 

whatsapp will sometimes keep asking users to enter the 6 digit passcode,

 

users cannot disable this without disabling the two-step verification feature altogether,

 

in case users do not provide whatsapp with an email id and want to disable two-step verification then the number will be permitted to re-verify on whatsapp without the passcode after 7 days,

 

however the users will lose all pending messages upon re-verifying,

 

5 – Avoid Whatsapp Web login at work

 

We often have the tendency to log into whatsapp web at the office and then leave the account open on the desktop,

 

this habit can actually create problems,

 

for you someone else sitting on the same pc can access all your chats without you even realizing it,

 

it's a good practice to log out from whatsapp before leaving the office,

 

it just takes a few seconds to log in again by just scanning the code and you're done,

 

6 – Make sure all chats are end-to-end encrypted

 

All whatsapp user should ensure that the chats are end to end encrypted,

 

verify that a chat is end-to-end encrypted open the chat tap on the name of the contact to open the contact info screen & then tap encryption to view the qr code and a 60-digit number,

 

whatsapp end-to-end encryption ensures that only you and your contact can read the messages that are being exchanged and nobody in between not even whatsapp with.

 

 

3 – What to Do if Whatsapp is Hacked?

 

The necessary guidelines out of the way let us go through the recommended course of action should our whatsapp accounts be compromised,

 

Most important thing that you need to do is report the issue to the whatsapp support team for assistance

 

Make sure that you reach out to the support team through its help desk & report the hacking attempt.

 

its help center will take the shortest time to resolve your issue via email or within the app itself,

 

this will help you to take prompt legal action against the hackers,

 

if you can't access your email call the support team in some cases the support will deactivate your whatsapp account and request you to reactivate it within 30 days,

 

if you don't want it to be deleted fully,

 

when someone compromises your whatsapp account they can now send messages to your contacts stating that the company sent your verification code and gain access to the account,

 

that's why one of the first things you'll want to do is send a message to your friends & family letting them know that you've lost access to your account,

 

this action prevents further exploitation of your account and others.

 

Another reason you'll want to let your contacts know you have no access to your whatsapp account is that they may fish for personal information,

 

from your banking number to your email address,

 

hackers will cleverly essay to gain as important access to your personal info as possible,

 

whatsapp web is an extension of whatsapp messenger over the web that facilitates easy synchronization of our smartphone and personal computer,

 

this is the biggest security thread that hackers can easily exploit to get into your personal data over Whatsapp,

 

therefore it is highly recommended that you use this whatsapp feature carefully,

 

once you notice that your whatever messenger has been hacked go to your whatsapp web and tap or click on the logout from all computers option,

 

this will deactivate all the web extensions of your account,

 

under the unfortunate circumstances where the account recovery doesn't seem likely,

 

you can always ask whatsapp support to delete your account permanently.

 

while far from the ideal solution it can act as a fail-safe option if you want to protect your personal data at any cost possible you can always open a new account later with the security issues mitigated.