Find out why WhatsApp faces grave risk of ban in India

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: “When you and your contacts use the latest version of the app, every call you make, and every message, photo, video, file and voice message you send, is end-to-end encrypted by default, including group chats,”WhatsApp declared to its 1 billion users.

Now, WhatsApp has not done anything wrong by offering greater privacy to its users, but the fact may not go down well with Indian security agencies.

Under the current law, OTT or Over The Top services like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, are not regulated for encryption, like the telecom services providers are.

Telecom rules permit the incumbent service providers like Vodafone India, Airtl the usage of only up to 40-bit encryption. WhatsApp on the other hand offers 256-bit key for encryption of all chat messages.

While the end-to-end encryption of messages offered by WhatsApp may be a boon to around 70 million users in India, the state agencies may not take the end-to-end encryption in their strides, and may soon bring out rules for regulating OTT service providers.

Terrorist operative groups keep scouting for messenger apps that offer end-to-end encryption to communicate and hatch terrorist operations and evade surveillance.