gadgets.ndtv.com : Researchers Ask Guardian to Retract WhatsApp 'Backdoor' Story

"We are aware of Zeynep Tufekci's open letter and have offered her the chance to write a response for the Guardian. Mounting pressure on the Guardian newspaper, a group of 30 security researchers have co-signed an open letter asking the paper to retract its story that claimed encrypted messages on WhatsApp can be intercepted as the mobile messaging service contained a 'backdoor'. WhatsApp said that it does not give governments a 'backdoor' into its systems and would fight any government request to create one. The Gurdian recently reported that a security vulnerability that can be used to allow Facebook and others to intercept and read encrypted messages had been found within its WhatsApp messaging service. "Unfortunately, your story was the equivalent of putting 'Vaccines Kill People' in a blaring headline over a poorly contextualised piece," TechCrunch quoted Zeynep Tufekci, an academic who organised the open letter, as saying.


A growing list of prominent cryptographers and cybersecurity researchers published an open letter asking the Guardian to retract an article it published last week asserting that WhatsApp had a backdoor, making it unsafe to use. The Guardian argued that design decisions by WhatsApp made to increase reliability for users meant that governments could potentially force the company to hand over messages. The message heard by activists, journalists and ordinary people around the world was clear: WhatsApp has a backdoor, it's insecure, don't use it. The Guardian, which has changed the original headline of the piece and edited some of the copy, will not retract the article, according to a comment provided to TechCrunch: The decision was a deliberate one by WhatsApp's designers and the issue has been known for months.

Dozens of cryptographers call on Guardian to retract WhatsApp 'backdoor' article
The Guardian, a well known UK-based newspaper, is being heavily criticized by security researchers for publishing an unverified story on WhatsApp vulnerability. Security researchers believe that the vulnerability pointed out by the Guardian is a minor one and poses an insignificant threat. Reportedly, the news service published a report citing that it was possible to intercept encrypted messages on WhatsApp because the application contained a Backdoor. The researchers opine that the threat is unlikely to cause any harm commenting that WhatsApp is a reliable messaging platform. Tobias Boelter, a security researcher and cryptography investigator, who was credited by the Guardian as the identifier of this security flaw.
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