She then sends it to Bob, who uses his private key to access the session key. When Alice wishes to send a message to Bob, she first generates a fresh session key, places it in the box and uses Bob’s public key to lock it. This is like a second lock with a key that changes for every messaging session. WhatsApp’s system adds a further level of encryption, known as “ perfect forward secrecy”. Alice uses Bob’s public key to lock the box, but it can only be unlocked with Bob’s private key. To get over this, each user has what’s called a public key that is available to anyone and proves the identity of the user, and a private key that stays with the user. Then, she sends the locked box to her friend Bob, who can only open the box and read Alice’s message if he has a valid key of his own.īut to be able to communicate with new users, you need a way of sharing keys that is still secure. For example, if a user called Alice wants to send her friend Bob a secure message, she puts it in the box and locks it with her key. Encryption algorithms are like a box with two locks. How does encryption work?Įncryption is simply a way for two or more users to exchange messages securely. But this isn’t the only problem – creating a way for the authorities to read encrypted messages would also make the system vulnerable to cyber attacks from criminals and other hackers, removing what makes it a secure way to communicate in the first place. On the other hand, there are many ordinary people who use messaging apps for daily communication and this request would be a direct breach of their privacy. The main argument behind this request is that access to messages will allow authorities to thwart future terror attacks. Most recently, in the wake of the March attack at Westminster, Amber Rudd, the UK home secretary, said it was unacceptable that the government couldn’t read the encrypted messages of suspected terrorists. Governments and secret services are asking encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp to allow them access to users’ data. A battle between national security and privacy is brewing.
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