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Don’t get hacked; protect your WhatsApp account

08 October 2020 Photo Istock

Whatsapp security — It is important to be safe when using WhatsApp. Do not leave your phone unattended when you are not close by.

There are 2 billion WhatsApp users in the world, and 1,6 billion WhatsApp users access their accounts on a daily basis.

However, it is important to also be safe when using this popular communication tool.

According to Cobus van Jaarsveld, Assistant Director: Threat Detection, Investigations and Liaison in Protection Services, it does happen that people’s WhatsApp accounts get hacked; this is a serious violation of privacy.

“It means a third party now has unlimited access to your personal chats, information, media – and in some instances, they can also masquerade as you by deleting your chats, replying to your chats, and committing crimes. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of how harmful it can be to get hacked,” says Van Jaarsveld.

He adds: “Hackers can access your WhatsApp data by various means, e.g. via WhatsApp web or registering your number on another device.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) provided the following tips to prevent one’s WhatsApp from getting hacked:

• Log out from all computers that you see in the list under WhatsApp Web. This will stop hackers from further reading your chats. However, this should be done every time you use WhatsApp web.
• Do not leave your phone unattended when you are out.
• Lock all your apps to prevent unknown people from accessing your apps.
• Do not connect your phone to unknown Wi-Fi connections, as hackers can also use the unique MAC address to access all your WhatsApp chats.
• In case your WhatsApp has already been hacked, deactivate your account by emailing support@whatsapp.com. Your account will be automatically deleted if not accessed for 30 days.
• Enable two-step verification under your WhatsApp account settings. This will add an extra layer of security to the app.
• Lock WhatsApp. It is imperative to have the AppLocker that will help you lock your WhatsApp. While WhatsApp does not offer this application per se, you can download it and the app will facilitate the use of your WhatsApp with a password or PIN. This will help to prevent anyone who has access to your phone from accessing your WhatsApp account, since they will require a password to open it.

News Archive

Grant of almost R3 million from the NRF for researchers

2007-02-13

The Research Directorate at the University of the Free State (UFS) received a grant of almost R3 million this year from the National Research Foundation (NRF) for the development of young researchers from the designated groups through the Thuthuka capacity building programme. The amount of grant holders increased during the past four years from five successful applications in 2003 to a phenomenal 44 this year. The Thuthuka programme is a partnership programme in which the UFS contributes two thirds of each grant holder's funding. This year, the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS is also taking part in the programme for the first time.

Here are, from the left: Ms Lizelle Janse van Rensburg (grant holder), Mr Antonie Pool (grant holder), Mr Arno van Niekerk (grant holder), Ms Annelize Venter (programme co-ordinator at the UFS Directorate of Research Development), Prof Phillipe Burger (chairperson of the Department of Economics at the UFS), Mr Johan Coetzee (grant holder) and Prof Lucius Botes (chairperson of the faculty's research committee).

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