On Friday (10), WhatsApp announced a tool to apply an extra layer of protection to backups saved conversations in the cloud. The feature allows you to encrypt with the password or key the backup copies stored in Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iOS). The function will reach everyone soon.
The tool will reach users after a long period of development. As previously revealed, who can encrypt the file with the aid of a unique and random 64-digit key? Those responsible for the messaging application emphasize that only the user can access the information.
“WhatsApp is the first global messaging service of this scale to offer end-to-end encrypted messages and backups,” announced Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, in a post on the social network. “Getting there was a very difficult technical challenge that required an entirely new framework for key storage and cloud storage in operating systems.”
WhatsApp: How does password backup work?
The backup can be accessed using the key itself or a personal password. If the user chooses the second option, the encryption key will be stored in a vault based on a hardware security module (HSM). Then the platform retrieves the credential to decrypt the file with the password.
The procedure for accessing the backup is as follows: first, the user enters the password to be verified. Afterward, the vault will send the key to the app for the backup to be decrypted. Remember that you can also choose only to use the 64-digit key to protect the file.
The messenger also claims that the safe has a mechanism to prevent access by brute force. In this case, the tool makes the key permanently inaccessible after a minimal number of unsuccessful access attempts. “WhatsApp will only know that there is a key,” they said. “He won’t know the key itself.”
The tool is optional and will arrive in Android and iPhone (iOS) “in the coming weeks.”
With information: Facebook
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