{"id":53106,"date":"2016-10-06T16:36:37","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T23:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mcafee.com\/?p=53106"},"modified":"2025-08-31T22:07:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T05:07:35","slug":"catchapp-whatsapp-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/catchapp-whatsapp-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Backpack Stuffed with Spy Tech Can Pry into WhatsApp"},"content":{"rendered":"

We use backpacks to carry our portable technology. But now they can carry a new technology that gets inside those personal devices. Specifically, into our WhatsApp. The product is a Wi-Fi hacking device<\/a>, made by an Israeli spy tech firm called Wintego, and is said to easily fit into a backpack. However, the danger doesn\u2019t lie with the device, called WINT, but rather what\u2019s loaded on it. A new app named CatchApp.<\/p>\n

CatchApp does what it says: it catches data from your WhatsApp account\u2014just as long as your phone is within close proximity of the WINT device carrying the spy tech app. Meaning, if a backpack near yours is holding the Wi-Fi hacking device, your WhatsApp data could be vulnerable. Wintego says the app has the capability to break through WhatsApp encryption<\/a> and grab everything from the target\u2019s account. That means chat sessions, detailed contact lists, files, photos\u2026all of it.<\/p>\n

In fact, Wintego claims CatchApp can get inside all versions of WhatsApp, despite the fact that, in late 2014, its developers began deploying\u00a0end-to-end encryption using\u00a0an advanced protocol called Signal. This means CatchApp can, apparently, understand how encrypted data is both mangled and relayed between WhatsApp users. This allows CatchApp to read virtually any secret message sent over the app.<\/p>\n

So who can get their hands on all this information? Wintego has said that WINT and CatchApp are not going to be sold to the public. But their product is evidence of hacking technology, and the spy tech space, evolving.<\/p>\n

This decryption technique is part of a larger cybersecurity trend in 2016: everyone is updating. While companies are trying to improve encryption methods and security measures to protect users\u2019 information, other cybersecurity experts are working on developing more and more ways to access that same data.<\/p>\n

Spy tech has seen a lot of recent development as well. With mobile, email, and computer surveillance, the space keeps growing. And since spy tech is now being used to target specific apps, it\u2019s an industry to keep your eye on.<\/p>\n

Tips to Protect Yourself From Cyber Attacks<\/h2>\n

In the meantime, here are a few tips to protect yourself from targeted and proximity-based attacks:<\/p>\n