Apple is not the only tech company that the Department of Justice is attacking over encryption, as prosecutors are setting their sites on WhatsApp, according to a report. It is claimed government officials are in discussions over how to deal with a wiretap order for a criminal case that applies to the Facebook-owned service, one that cannot be easily implemented due to WhatsApp’s use of encryption to protect both messages and voice calls made over the Internet.
Sources of the Justice Department speaking to the New York Times claim the internal debate is taking place over how to listen in, but are thwarted by WhatsApp’s encryption. The company started to encrypt communications end-to-end between Android devices in 2014, adding support for iOS last year, and teamed up with Open Whisper Systems to strengthen the app’s security further.
Unlike Apple’s current dealings with the FBI, the case in question is said to be under seal, and report sources state it is not an investigation into terrorism, though the exact nature of the case and the location were also kept secret.
WhatsApp’s usage of encryption has already landed the messaging service in trouble, with the arrest of a Facebook executive in Brazil prompted by WhatsApp’s continued failure to comply with a court order in a drug trafficking case. The arrest, which took place earlier this month, occurred despite insistence from the company that “WhatsApp cannot provide information we do not have,” namely encrypted data it cannot access itself.
