3 Risks of VPN Apps for Whatsapp Users
Translator
Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor
Mahinda Arkiyasa
Kamis, 23 Mei 2019 16:17 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Following the government's temporary restriction on Whatsapp features to suppress the spread of hoax news, many users bypassed the block by using virtual private network (VPN) apps. However, the use of this bypassing tool is not as risk-free as people might think.
"The risk of using VPN services is that the data sent to the VPN server could potentially be misused by VPN providers," said cybersecurity expert Alfons Tanujaya in a text message to Tempo on Thursday, May 23, 2019.
The Indonesian government through the Communication and Informatics Ministry decided to limit the number of features in Whatsapp, mainly its image and video sharing services, for a few days starting on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. The ministry decided that it is the best way to prevent the May 22 riots from escalating.
Alfons said that using VPN services exposes its users to three risks:
- Data Breach
According to Alfons, important personal data of VPN users could potentially be leaked to a third party especially if the user's data is not secure. "Important data such as account credentials, credit card data, internet banking login data that are not well-protected will be at risk," he said.
He explained that the VPN works similarly like when someone uses a café’s hotspot or office proxy server.
- Misusage of user's habit in social media
He explained that VPN providers could detect the profile of a VPN's user despite its personal data being well-protected. The profiling can be achieved by compiling a person's browsing history, which in certain length can determine a person's hobby, political views, and other webpages a person often visits.
"This can be used for advertising purposes, but worse, it can be used to influence a user," he said.
- Prone to advertisement and malware
VPN traffic that going to users, said Alfons, can easily be infiltrated by adverts and malware, which the latter can impose a higher risk than the Israel spyware that spread through Whatsapp recently.
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