Messenger and Whatsapp: Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, and Viber are the most used social app in all over the world. We think that it is more secure but it is not true even they also not aware about the Security option “Authentication Ceremony”. A New Research from the US found this and highlight the importance of the Security.
Researchers from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah in the US found that most users of popular messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber are leaving themselves exposed to fraud or hacking because they are unaware of impenitent security options like an ‘authentication ceremony’.
Whatsapp provides the facility to an end to end encryption for securable conversation but this also not more secure hackers can easily track the messages. The ‘authentication ceremony’ is a security practice to ensure the members involved in a communication are authentic. Before sending any sensitive information the recipient can be done this. But because most users are unaware of the ‘ceremony’ and its importance, “it is possible that a malicious third party or man-in-the-middle attacker can eavesdrop on their conversations”, said Elham Vaziripour, Computer Science student at BYU who led the study.
The analysts led a two-stage experiment in which they provoked members to share a Mastercard number with another member. Members were cautioned about potential dangers and urged to ensure their messages were secret. Just 14 for each penny of clients in the primary stage figured out how to effectively validate their beneficiary. Others picked impromptu safety efforts like approaching their accomplices for insights about a common affair.
In the second stage, after analysts underlined the significance of ‘verification services’, 79 for each penny of clients could effectively confirm the other party. Be that as it may, the members found the middle value of 11 minutes to validate their accomplices.
“Once we told people about the authentication ceremonies, most people could do it. But it was not simple, people were frustrated and it took them too long,” noted Daniel Zappala, Professor, Computer Science, BYU. Most of the people are unaware of the security issues and they don’t have experience and knowledge of Security problems. The researchers are now working to develop a mechanism that makes the ‘authentication ceremony’ quick and automatic. “If we can perform the authentication ceremony behind the scenes for users automatically or effortlessly, we can address these problems without necessitating user education,” said Vaziripour.
