Using Device Linking to Eavesdrop on WhatsApp and Signal
Germany's Customs Office uses WhatsApp Web and Signal Desktop to connect police-controlled computers to suspect accounts, bypassing encryption.
Intelligence analysis by Qwen 2.5 (3B)
Police can access WhatsApp and Signal accounts linked to other devices with user consent, raising security concerns.
Police can use a police-controlled computer to connect to a suspect's phone account, then see messages without breaking the encryption. Users can see which devices are linked to their account.
Analysis
{"heading":"The Feature That Displays Connected Devices","subheading":"Signal and WhatsApp Implement User Consent","content":["Both WhatsApp Web and Signal Desktop allow users to link their phone accounts to their computer desktops.","Signal and WhatsApp have implemented a feature that displays connected devices, enabling users to notice if a new device gets linked to their account.","This feature includes a list of all linked devices with a timestamp of their last activity."]}
Key points
- Police can access WhatsApp and Signal accounts linked to other devices with user consent.
- Signal and WhatsApp have implemented a feature to display connected devices.
- Users can see which devices are linked to their account, raising security concerns.
Users can now see which devices are linked to their account, improving security.
Police can still access messages even if users are aware of the linked devices.
