Daily Times

“We don’t need Spies anymore we have Apple and Google working for us”.

Recently a debate has just popped up on national media regarding the new whatsapp privacy rules update. We as a nation carry a legacy to ignore the most important and focus on the least important issues, so is the case in this debate on whatsapp privacy update.

As per WhatsApp, its new terms of service, as well as privacy policy, will go live on February 8 and if the users want to continue using the app, they will have to accept the company’s terms and conditions.If they don’t, they will no longer be able to access their WhatsApp accounts from February 8.

Whatever information WhatsApp automatically collects from you will be shared with Facebook and its sister companies. This includes your mobile phone number, location, statuses and basic information you give when you create a WhatsApp account.

Let’s rewind a couple of decades, when the whole world was debating on privacy, security and copyrights we were going through the worst since Independence, terrorism, dictatorship, emergency, black outs, economic meltdown,unemployment, poverty, in short everything worse that can happen to a Nation stuck us.

We have been tracked, spied, stalked for last 20 years but we didn’t botherabout privacy as we had bigger issues to tackle. However, the dust has settled. Last year, sirens went off as Pakistan Military spokesperson stated that Pakistani intelligence agencies have tracked a major security breach by Indian hackers whereby phones and other gadgets of government officials and military personnel were targeted.

Data leaks can reveal everything from social security numbers to banking information. Once a criminal has these details, they can engage in all types of fraud under your name

A letter issued by Government of Pakistan, titled ‘Ban on use of WhatsApp and likewise means for sharing of official letter and Information’. “These spyware companies are using hacking softwares and applications such as ‘Chat Line’ and ‘Pegasus’ malware on WhatsApp account of target mobile phones (IOS and Android) to gain access to sensitive information stored on mobile phones. The malware is capable to infect any mobile phone (IOS and Android) only by generating missed call on target WhatsApp number.

Very few Government employees knew about Hacking and even lesser knew about Pegasus spyware, malware or stalkerware. Let’s dig it up, what is spyware or malwareand how does it arrive on your computer or smartphone?

Pegasus malware is manufactured by an Israeli technology company called the NSO Group and is among the most advanced spyware in the world. It can access and infiltrate a smartphone without the owner clicking a link, opening an email or even answering their phone meaning it can go undetected. This could be installed deliberately by someone else to track you. A malware can be accompanied by a program or app that you installed yourself. Spyware/malware often accompanies programs that are disguised as useful software, such as download managers, registry cleaners, and so on. Sometimes, it comes packaged with video games. It may even come packaged in a software bundle with real, useful programs. Though both Apple and Google do their best to prevent spyware hitting their operating systems, packages with spyware included have made it through to the Google Play Store – so you can’t be too careful.

Why would someone spy on you? There could be multiple reasons for someone to spy on your phone. Perhaps your phone contains important business data that a spy wants to know about, or a spouse wants to find out about a potential affair, or you’re very wealthy and someone wants to hack into your checking account. Maybe you have an important job or one with a lot of responsibility. For example, scientists, journalists, judges or other government workers could all be potential targets for the bad guys. So, how do you know if someone is spying on your cell phone and what can you do about it?

Unfortunately, even a strong login password on your phone is not going to protect you from harmful spies. And there are plenty of spying apps on the market that can monitor all of your cell phone activity without your knowledge. PlayStore/Google Android is the world’s most popular mobile operating system. Android is considered an ‘open’ operating system, which essentially means that smartphone manufacturers are free to alter it to work in any way they want, and anyone can release apps for it but unfortunately, this also means Android is more prone to malware than other mobile operating systems.

Identity theft is a major threat to data breach victims. Data leaks can reveal everything from social security numbers to banking information. Once a criminal has these details, they can engage in all types of fraud under your name. Theft of your identity can ruin your credit, pin you with legal issues, and it is difficult to fight back against.

While these are common cases, the harm done by data breaches can extend far beyond these situations. So, it is essential that you investigate whether your data has already been exposed.

When you’re trying to plan how to prevent data breach attacks or leaks, security is only as strong as the weakest link. Every person that interacts with a system can be a potential vulnerability. Even small children with a tablet on your home network can be a risk.

Prevention is better than cure so please take certain measures to prevent or at least reduce the impact of an infection by malware or spyware. Never open links or download or open files sent from an unknown source, switch off push SMS messages in your device settings, always install software updates and patches on time, turn off Wi-Fi, bluetooth and location services when not in use, encrypt any sensitive data located on your phone, periodically back up your files to a physical storage, do not blindly approve app permission requests. Never use unsecure Wi-Fi connections always use a VPN when connecting to public Wi-Fi, always install apps from trusted sourcessuch as the Google Play Store read the fine print and permissions on the apps to understand how much access you are giving the app developers. Don’t fill out your social media profile, the more information you share online, the easier it’s going to be for someone to get their hands on it.

In a nutshell, this whole controversy may be chalked up to users misreading confusing media reports, jumping to conclusions, and then participating in scaremongering on social media. But it’s also a reality Facebook must contend with that the lack of trust in WhatsApp is directly related to years of bad faith privacy pledges from Facebook and increasingly complex terms of service agreements no regular, non-lawyer user can reasonably comprehend.

Therefore, it is right to say that, Facebook and WhatsApp face a long road of transparent communication and trust-building ahead if they want to get those people back.