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WhatsApp: Not an Easy Target
With more than 900 million active users, Facebook-owned WhatsApp messenger is the world's most popular instant messaging tools — Far Eastern countries being the exception. WhatsApp client apps are available on all mobile platforms including Android, Apple iOS, Blackberry, Microsoft Windows Phone 8.x and Windows 10 Mobile.
WhatsApp is secure. All messages fly directly between users' devices, securely encrypted. Intercepting WhatsApp communications is not possible, and neither can one hack into WhatsApp servers and steal communication histories.
Due to its overwhelming popularity, WhatsApp has quickly become a target for spammers, hoaxers and cyber criminals of all sorts. The very fact that the messenger app is designed to use secure end-to-end communications makes it impossible for the police to investigate WhatsApp communications by requesting a history file from the service provider. As a result, acquisition is only possible from end-user devices or from data backups produced by such devices and saved either locally or stored in a cloud.
Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp
We made Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp to help legitimate WhatsApp users access their communication histories stored on their own devices or in the cloud. The product will also come handy to forensic experts, IT security specialists and law enforcement, helping to extract WhatsApp databases from local and cloud iOS backups (iTunes or iCloud) and allowing to view stand-alone WhatsApp backups stored in iCloud Drive.
The built-in viewer allows managing multiple WhatsApp databases at the same time. The convenient searching and filtering allow finding contacts, messages and pictures or identifying conversations that match a certain criteria Ð such as containing a key word or falling within a certain date range.
Our new tool features the ability to download both iOS and standalone WhatsApp backups from Apple iCloud and iCloud Drive. In order to download cloud backups, you'll need to enter the user's Apple ID and password or use a binary authentication token extracted from the user's computer. While we don't include the token extraction tool with Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp, you are free to use one supplied with Elcomsoft Phone Breaker. If you don't own that product, you're welcome to use the token extraction tool from the free evaluation version of Elcomsoft Phone Breaker.
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