That we use WhatsApp every day as part of our routine does not mean that it is not without risks, dangers, and malware. It is an application whose messages are encrypted from end to end so that any conversation we have is safe and nobody can read it except the sender and receiver of it. That is, you and the person or people who are in that chat. The rest cannot have messages. But there is CatchApp, a tool that puts the application’s privacy in check and that promises to decrypt WhatsApp messages.
Surely you have ever wondered if someone can read your WhatsApp messages if they intercept your mobile phone or even from the company itself. No. Not even the application itself would have access to your private conversations, but an interceptor, a tool, is capable of doing this. Although CatchApp promises to do so, it is not easy to decrypt WhatsApp messages and we tell you everything you should know about them, what are the risks of trying them or what options are there.
CatchApp
CatchApp is an Israeli surveillance device that was born a few years ago, in 2016 it became popular, and whose creators assure that it is capable of extracting any WhatsApp conversation even if it is encrypted and could later decrypt it to know what you say or send.
It would be a tool that can be hidden in a backpack to access conversations. It is not an application or software but a device created by Wintgo to read and decrypt WhatsApp messages without the victim knowing it. The tool is just one more in a Wintego hacking “package” that would have been called WINT. In this case, CatchApp is specialized in the messaging application but there are other options and tools that could collect all kinds of content, as they were collected at the time from Forbes, such as emails, calendars, photographs or credentials.
MITM attack
How? Basically what CatchApp does is create a fake Wi-Fi access point to which we would connect and collect all the traffic that passes through that point. The disadvantage of using the tool is that it would need to be “close” to the phone that you want to intercept, but the advantage is that it is an effective tool that promises to achieve this in real time, which would be especially dangerous and effective.
To function, CatchApp performs a ‘man-in-the-middle’ attack (MITM) , one of the most frequent attacks and dangers of public WiFi. As is usual in these cases, what the tool does is that it will be placed in the center of the communication and thus it can access the messages of the messaging application although the WhatsApp encryption algorithm avoids it in most cases. . If the tool works as they are reported in Forbes magazine, it would not be foolproof.
According to the company, it would work to decrypt WhatsApp messages on iOS and Android and in the most current versions possible, although the tool has not spoken since 2016 and we will have to wait to see if it is put into action or if it is used by the best hackers. of the world to access our conversations.
How to prevent my WhatsApp messages from being decrypted
WhatsApp is a safe tool so you shouldn’t worry, frequently, that they will read your conversations. WhatsApp’s encryption algorithm ensures that messages are encrypted from end to end and with few exceptions, such as CatchApp, you will not have any problem. There are some tips that you can avoid so that they do not hack WhatsApp or so that they do not read your messages, very basic tips that do not involve any effort and that will allow us to be somewhat more protected:
- Avoid public WiFi networks that you can access without a password because they are usually a good way to attack your mobile phone or steal your data. If you have no choice but to use them, bet on a VPN to do so.
- Do not give anyone your WhatsApp verification code even if they ask for it and distrust emails or applications that will ask for it. Nobody needs it and only you will need it when you log into your application if you uninstall or change your phone, but no application can ask you.
- Be careful with WhatsApp Web since you can leave it open on a shared computer (jobs, cafes …) and someone will be able to read all your conversations. Go to the WhatsApp Web section on your mobile and close all sessions to make sure that you have not left anything open on any computer or other type of device.
- Activate and protect chats with a password so that nobody can access them or decrypt WhatsApp messages when they access your mobile phone.
How to decrypt WhatsApp messages
Although this CatchApp tool promises to be able to read messages , you should not try it with any of the Google Play or App Store applications that promise to do so because most will be a scam that involves malware or future problems: bans, viruses, scams. There are many tools and applications that we find in the different marketplaces of the operating systems that promise us miracles in WhatsApp such as knowing what messages our contacts send or having unthinkable functions in the application.
These applications often have a double danger: on the one hand, they are a scam and are usually a perfect gateway to malware on your mobile phone, so you are at risk and will not work. On the other hand, WhatsApp mods are one of the main reasons why the messaging application bans its users so you could be left without WhatsApp forever for going against their rules.
Also, there is no reason why you can read or want to read someone else’s private messages, so you better forget to do it at home because there are more risks and dangers than the advantages you can get.