Chinese government officials have accidentally admitted over the weekend that they can access deleted WeChat messages, a Chinese news site has reported. The admission came over the weekend from an anti-graft commission from the Chinese province of Anhui investigating reports of corruption among government officials. Lee Munson, Security Researcher at Comparitech.com commented below.
Lee Munson, Security Researcher at Comparitech.com:
“The fact that a government, especially the one in China, has both the will and the means to access previously deleted messages on a device is hardly surprising.
The fact that it made that knowledge public, however, most certainly is.
While it is unclear just how the deleted chats were accessed, this revelation will do a great job of raising awareness among the Chinese public who certainly have less freedom and privacy than many other citizens in the world.
Likewise, it may also help to highlight the danger in assuming that communications on any device are always totally secure, and go some way to helping people make informed decisions about the particular apps and services they use.
It is unlikely, however, to dissuade Western governments from trying to gain access to conversations, both current and deleted, on WhatsApp and other popular platforms, so everyone would do well to keep an eye on their chat service of choice.”
