Cybersecurity

Popular Messaging Apps WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage, And More Reportedly Safe From CIA Hacking Tools

While the hacking tools were legitimate worries themselves, no less worrying was the assertion that the CIA is capable of bypassing encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp and Edward Snowden-endorsed Signal. That these apps, equipped with end-to-end encryption, could fall vulnerable in the grand scheme of things, is pretty terrifying.

This tidbit was widely reported in the heat of the WikiLeaks slash CIA maelstrom, but according to the New York Times, such reports are overblown. The publication reports that following the data dump, security researchers combed the entire database using automated tools, but could find nary a mention of popular encrypted messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal, Wickr, and iMessage, essentially meaning that all are immune from CIA's reported hacking tools.

The report adds that the hacking methods outlined in the documents do not, in fact, have the ability to bypass the encrypted apps. Though a member of the CIA might be able to seize control of WhatsApp by also taking control over the phone, the app itself isn't open to hacking, at least not according to the documents.