Data Security and Privacy in Mobile Technology: A case of Whatsapp Web

Download Article

DOI: 10.21522/TIJAR.2014.05.01.Art006

Authors : Samuel Chris Quist

Abstract:

Mobile computing technology is on the ever ascending trajectory, making it the technology to use in any thriving industry. Mobile computing technology is thriving due to its portability as such it is very easy to carry around and can be operated anywhere. However, due to the size of most mobile devices that run mobile apps being very small, which also makes it more portable, it sometimes impedes its usage on very large data inputs volumes. Most people find it more comfortable using their personal computers or laptops to prepare and store their documents and other files. This article reviews the benefits of using WhatsApp web, the potential privacy or security vulnerability as compared with other screen mirroring or casting technologies such as Vysor, Mobizen, AirDroid, etc. It is recommended that WhatsApp web connects to the mobile device through a WiFi or USB as implemented in AirDoid instead of connecting directly to the WhatsApp server once the QR code has been scanned using the WhatsApp on the mobile. Secondly, WhatsApp must implement automatic logout of older WhatsApp web sessions instead of just disconnecting the older session once a new session is connected and reconnects the older session once the new one is disconnected since this increases the vulnerability of the end-user.

Keywords: WhatsApp Web, Data Security, Privacy, Screen mirroring, Screen casting, Mobile Technology.

References:

[1].     Bailey, C. M. (2017, September 9). How to Use WhatsApp on Your Laptop or Desktop Computer. Retrieved November 2, 2017, from Livewire: https://www.lifewire.com

[2].     Dua, K. (2015, January 22). WhatsApp Web Feels Like a Hack But Works Surprisingly Well. Retrieved from Gadgets 360: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/reviews/whatsapp-web-feels-like-a-hack-but-works-surprisingly-well-652347

[3].     Frew, J. (2017, March 20). 4 Security Threats WhatsApp Users Needs to Know About. Retrieved July 15, 2017, from Make Use of: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-security-threats-whatsapp-users-need-know/

[4].     Han, S.-H., & Park, H.-Y. (2013). U. S. Patent No. 13/771,959.

[5].     Kang, P.-S., Hahm, S.-i., & Hwang, T.-H. (2014, September 16). U. S. Patent No. 14/487,673.

[6].     Kim, J.-H., & Ko, D.-Y. (2015). Implementation of Mirroring and Efficient User Interface System for Smart Phone. The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences, 40(2), 363-365.

[7].     Krishna, V. (2017, January 12). 8 Ways to Mirror Your Android Screen to Any Computer. Retrieved October 21, 2017, from TechWiser: https://techwiser.com/cast-your-android-screen/

[8].     Kumar, P. (2017, August 16). PC-MobiTech. Retrieved September 15, 2017, from Run Whatsapp on PC With Google Chrome & other Browsers.: https://www.pcmobitech.com

[9].     La, S. (2017, July 20). How Miracast Takes Screen Mirroring to the Next Level. Retrieved November 21, 2017, from ScreenBeam: http://blog.screenbeam.com

[10].  McGill, M., Williamson, J., & Brewster, S. A. (2014, June). Mirror, mirror, on the wall: collaborative screen-mirroring for small groups. In Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Interactive Experiences for TV and Online Video (pp. 87-94). ACM.

[11].  McGill, M., Williamson, J., & Brewster, S. A. (2015). Who's the Fairest of Them All: Device Mirroring for the Connected Home. In Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Interactive Experiences for TV and Online Video (pp. 83-92). ACM.

[12].  O'Boyle, B. (2016, May 11). WhatsApp desktop app: What is it, how does it work and how do you use it? Retrieved November 10, 2017, from Pocket-lint: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/137580-whatsapp-desktop-app-what-is-it-how-does-it-work-and-how-do-you-use-it

[13].  Pathak, K. (2017, July 5). 6 Things You Absolutely Need to Know About WhatsApp Web. Retrieved November 10, 2017, from Guiding Tech: https://www.guidingtech.com/38225/whatsapp-web/

[14].  Sørensen, H., O’Hara, K., Gosset, P., & Kjeldskov, J. (2015, September). Wireless Smartphone Mirroring in Video Calls. In Human-Computer Interaction, 410-417.

[15].  Statista. (2017, July). Number of monthly active WhatsApp users as of 2013-2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017, from The Statistics Portal: https://www.statista.com

[16].  Unuth, N. (2017, October 10). Why WhatsApp is So Popular. Retrieved November 24, 2017, from Lifewire: https://www.lifewire.com

[17].  Userful. (2016, February 10). Userful. Retrieved from Screen Mirroring and Why it is Important: https://www.userful.com

[18].  WhatsApp Inc. (2017). WhatsApp Security. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from WhatsApp: https://www.whatsapp.com

[19].  Ye, B., Wang, F. Z., Li, L., Helian, N., & Dimitrakos, T. (2014). Mirroring mobile phone in the clouds. In Mobile Services (MS), 2014 IEEE International Conference on (pp. 140-146). IEEE.