Whatsapp happening to encrypt all conversations of users

The application of instant messages, WhatsApp, which is used by more than 1 billion people around the world, announced yesterday that all messages from users – whether in text, photo, video or voice – began to be encrypted from end to end. This means that only sender and receiver of messages are able to read its contents. The new security feature, which makes the access to any conversations between users, is part of the new version of the application.
The news surprised the users of the service, which began to see a warning in conversations with friends. "The messages that you send to this conversation now are protected with end-to-end encryption," says the message in yellow. "Any message sent through a public access channel such as the internet can be intercepted by third parties," explains Professor of computer science at the Federal University of ABC, Denise Goya. "Encryption allows you to encrypt these messages so that only the device that has the key can decode it."
Encryption was already used in the application from 2012, but the text messages were encrypted only during the brief period in which were stored on the servers of the company – WhatsApp erases the content once the message is delivered to the recipient. Last year, the company has partnered with the non-governmental organization Open Whisper Systems to expand the use of encryption on the platform. "Over the last year, we release gradually Signal Protocol support for all versions of WhatsApp", said the team, in its official blog. "The integration is now complete."
Privacy. According to WhatsApp, from now on, nobody will be able to read the contents of a message sent through the service-this includes cyber criminals, hackers, Justice of any country or even the team that runs the service. "End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp, sort of like a private conversation face to face," said co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp, Jan Koum.
In practice, this means that, in cases where the Justice determine that WhatsApp needs reveal the content of the conversation for an investigation, the company can claim not to have technical conditions to meet the request – once the cryptographic keys are not in its possession, but in service users '' smartphones. After failing to meet a similar ruling from the brazilian Justice, in December last year, WhatsApp was blocked for a few hours in the country.
"Although we recognize the important work of Justice in keeping people safe, efforts to weaken encryption risk exposure of users '' information to abuse of cyber criminals, hackers, and oppressive regimes," said the co-founder of WhatsApp, in a note.
Dispute. The announcement of the total encryption WhatsApp happens a few weeks after the u.s. manufacturer Apple refusing to unlock the iPhone used by one of the shooters of the San Bernardino massacre – occurred in December last year--even after a court order. The refusal of Apple resumed discussion on the limits of privacy on the internet, that divides experts.
"Intercept conversations on WhatsApp is something as sensitive as do that in a phone call," says the Director of Internet Lab, Center for research in law and technology, Francisco Brito Cruz. "We need to think about other forms of less invasive research."
For the digital rights expert Renato Opice Blum, tech companies and justice still need to strike a balance to ensure the privacy of the users, thinking in the way the police work.
"The criminals will use increasingly these services and we need to ensure that they can be investigated," said the lawyer. "At the same time, we must ensure that ordinary people are not espionadas."