In wake of massive hack, Telegram claims rival WhatsApp will never be safe

Following the news of latest, massive WhatsApp breach, Russian rival Telegram’s founder has warned users that the app will never be safe now.

Founder of the popular Russian messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, slammed the world’s top messaging app WhatsApp that it will continue to be open to surveillance after the firm informed users to update the app as their phones might be infected with spyware.

In the blog post, Durov wrote, “WhatsApp has a consistent history – from zero encryption at its inception to a succession of security issues strangely suitable for surveillance purposes. Looking back, there hasn't been a single day in WhatsApp’s 10 year journey when this service was secure.

“That’s why I don’t think that just updating WhatsApp’s mobile app will make it secure for anyone. Every time WhatsApp has to fix a critical vulnerability in their app, a new one seems to appear in its place.”

Earlier this week, the Facebook-owned social media platform notified its over 1.5 billion users globally to upgrade the app to plug a security hole. As per Gadgets360, the flaw permitted the injection of sophisticated malware that could be used to spy on journalists, activists and others. The hack led everything on a user’s phone from private photos and videos, to emails and texts, be accessible to hackers.

Durov suggested that the FBI could have forced WhatsApp or Facebook to incorporate ‘backdoors’ or secret ways to bypass security systems in their programming. He said that the app will never be secure unless fundamentally changes the way it works, reported Independent.

“For WhatsApp to become a privacy-oriented service, it has to risk losing entire markets and clashing with authorities in their home country. They don’t seem to be ready for that,” he wrote.