WhatsApp Flaw 'Puts Words in Your Mouth'

[upnorth]

Content source

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49273606

A newly-released tool that exploits a vulnerability in Facebook’s WhatsApp allows you to "put words in people’s mouths", researchers say.

A team from cybersecurity firm Checkpoint has demonstrated how the tool can be used to alter the text within quoted messages, making it look as if a person had said something they did not. Researcher Oded Vanunu told the BBC the tool made it possible for “malicious actors” to manipulate conversations on the platform. Facebook would not provide a comment on the issue. The tool was demonstrated at Black Hat, a cyber-security conference in Las Vegas, as a follow up to a research paper published by Checkpoint last year. “It’s a vulnerability that allows a malicious user to create fake news and create fraud,” Mr Vanunu explained. The tool makes it possible to manipulate WhatsApp’s quoting feature to make it look like someone had written something they had not. “You can completely change what someone says,” Mr Vanunu said. "You can completely manipulate every character in the quote.”

The spread of misinformation on WhatsApp has been a major cause of concern, particularly in countries such as India and Brazil, where misinformation has lead to instances of violence, and in some cases, death.

 

[[correlate]]

A cybersecurity firm says it has identified flaws in the popular messaging app WhatsApp that could allow hackers to manipulate messages in both public and private conversations, raising the prospect of misinformation being spread by what appears to be trusted sources.

WhatsApp Flaws Could Allow Hackers to Alter Messages

A cybersecurity firm says it has identified flaws in the popular messaging app WhatsApp that could allow hackers to manipulate messages in both public and private conversations, raising the prospect of misinformation being spread by what appears to be trusted sources.

www.bloomberg.com