WhatsApp already allows you to send photographs or videos that disappear from the chats when they are opened and seen by the contact that receives them, a function that increases privacy on the platform but exposes to risk situations such as extortion, according to a report by Europa Press.
The ephemeral photos and videos that can only be seen once they are already available on WhatsApp after making their appearance beforeExample, a photo of the ID if necessary for a group reserve, or the credentials (user and password) to connect to a WiFi network.
WhatsApp ensures that the ‘unique visualization’, which is what this temporary message modality is called, gives the user greater control over their privacy.But it also warns that the receiver can make screenshots, a function that is not restricted in this application.
This fact can put the user at risk, making it vulnerable, for example, to extortion for sexual reasons, as they have warned from Panda Security in a statement.According to the data provided to the Secretary of State for Security by the State Security Forces and Bodies, this type of crime has increased by 46 percent since 2018.
Also to 'grooming', sexual harassment and abuse of minors by adults, and that can begin when cybercriminal goes to a social network such as Tiktok, one of the most famous among adolescents, and puts in touch with theVictim from a false profile from which you can pretend to be another minor or even an 'influencer', as explained from Panda.
This contact can generate a confidence link, which can lead to the child to share with the adult his phone number to follow the conversation in WhatsApp, where harassment begins, which can include requests for sexual content of the sexual type.
The cybersecurity company warns that "this is where the problem of this security failure lies, the cybercrime has all the facilities to capture the file that can only be seen once, something that not only affects minors".
In the case of the so -called ‘SexTorts’ between adults, in most cases it begins with a contact established through appointment applications, in which in a way similar to ‘grooming’ in minors.The victim can have a false sense of security when he sends this content using functions such as WhatsApp, believing that the delicate content disappears once the recipient opens it and sees it.
The foundation of the crime of sexants is blackmail;Cybercriminal threatens the victim with sharing private files to her contacts or publicly and asks for money or favors such as sending more intimate content.