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IPHONE and Android users have been urged to ditch texting and use WhatsApp instead in a warning from the FBI.
Chinese cyberattacks are targeting Americans through messages and calls that aren’t encrypted, officials said.
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The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the best way to prevent hackers from seizing their messages is to use encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal.
Encrypting involves technology that scrambles a message and requires a key to unscramble it.
“Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether it’s on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication,” said CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity Jeff Greene.
“Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible.”
He said people should be “using a cell phone that automatically receives timely operating system updates, responsibly managed encryption and phishing resistant [multi-factor authentication] for email, social media and collaboration tool accounts.”
The massive cyberattack, which is called Salt Typhoon by Microsoft, has exposed private communications between Americans to foreign hackers.
China hacked tech giants like AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies to spy on customers, officials told NBC News.
“China firmly opposes and combats all kinds of cyber attacks,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy said to NBC News.
A senior FBI official confirmed the agency started investigating the questionable activity in the spring of this year.
Greene said it’s “impossible” to predict when the issue will be fully resolved.
Signal and WhatsApp automatically use end-to-end encryption in both calls and messages.
Google Messages and iMessage also encrypt calls and texts.
This means that messaging from Android to Android or iPhone to iPhone is typically safe.
However, the issue pops up when iPhone users text Android users and vice versa.
WhatsApp – a quick history
Here’s what you need to know…
- WhatsApp was created in 2009 by computer programmers Brian Acton and Jan Koum – former employees of Yahoo
- It’s one of the most popular messaging services in the world
- Koum came up with the name WhatsApp because it sounded like “what’s up”
- After a number of tweaks the app was released with a messaging component in June 2009, with 250,000 active users
- It was originally free but switched to a paid service to avoid growing too fast. Then in 2016, it became free again for all users
- Facebook bought WhatsApp Inc in February 2014 for $19.3 billion / £14.64 billion
- The app is particularly popular because all messages are encrypted during transit, shutting out snoopers
- As of 2024, WhatsApp has over 2.78 billion monthly users globally
A Senate Commerce committee is set to hold a hearing about Salt Typhoon on December 11.
The subcommittee is expected to go over security threats to communications networks and “review best practice,” Reuters reported.
The warning to use encrypted messages comes after officials warned Chrome and Safari users to avoid certain websites while shopping on Black Friday.
The FBI said shoppers should avoid websites that don’t start with the letters “https.”
Officials said people should also be wary of buying from sellers that only appear to be authorized dealers.
Plus, they recommended making purchases with a credit card over gift cards.
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