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How to safely use WhatsApp Business without exposing your networks to cyber criminals
By BUFFERZONE Team, 4/08/2022
A growing number of businesses have started integrating WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging tool, to connect with customers.
The features that have turned WhatsApp into the preferred communication platform of more than two billion users worldwide are just as attractive to the corporate world. As companies seek to improve their direct communication with clients, WhatsApp offers an easy-to-use system that enables users to send written messages, pictures and links directly from their computers or mobile devices.
Since the launch of WhatsApp Business, the app has attracted more than 50 million users and the numbers are on the rise. According to a recent research by Tyntec, WhatsApp Business speeds up customer service by 225%, providing a real opportunity for businesses to improve engagement.
The growing popularity of WhatsApp Business is evident to anyone, as it is an excellent tool for customers seeking assistance from businesses of all sizes, from airlines and financial services companies to local pizza stores.
So, we at BUFFERZONE were not surprised when we were recently approached by an insurance company seeking to implement WhatsApp Business while wishing to remain protected from possible ransomware attacks.
The insurer’s business development team wished to use WhatsApp to better communicate with clients, enabling them to send pictures and videos associated to damage claims. At the same time, the company’s security experts were worried that by opening unidentified attachments they were exposing the corporate computers and computer networks to unknown threats.
Attackers have already identified the potential to use WhatsApp to send malicious messages, just as they do in Zoom chats and as infected files via email.
So for example, The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), has recently dismantled a cybercrime group that made millions of euros through phishing and other types of schemes by using, among others, WhatsApp. The messages sent contained a link that pointed to a fake bank website designed to harvest the victim’s credentials, giving the cybercrooks access to their online banking account.
It is only a question of time before attackers will come up with other creative ideas for exploiting WhatsApp vulnerabilities and future attacks become more sophisticated, potentially resulting in ransomware schemes.
BUFFERZONE provides excellent protection for business wishing to use WhatsApp Business. With BUFFERZONE, all incoming files are either automatically disarmed of potentially malicious content, or opened inside a virtual, isolated container. Even if malware manages to run, it can access and damage only files and processes inside the container, which is periodically wiped clean. Native computer and organizational resources remain secure.
BUFFERZONE disarms known file types and ensures that no malware can migrate from the container into the operating system. This enables businesses to safely use WhatsApp Business and protect themselves against known and yet undiscovered cyber attacks.
