The WhatsApp messenger has encrypted its latest version available for the users last night. This results, the messenger to be illegal in India for usage.

WhatsApp messenger

The WhatsApp messenger in India may be difficult to use as the company has opted to shift from 40 bit to 256-bit encryption. As per the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the usage is not allowed for the private sector to operate. Hence, the usage can be made illegal and the booked under the case of Indian Cyber law violations.

But in the other aspect, the 2007 guideline of the DoT, there is a need for the WhatsApp messenger to take prior permission for the encryption up gradation. Sadly this is not a mandatory law to be followed as the app does not come under the Internet Service Provider (ISP), nor it is a licensed by the DoT.

Due to these loopholes in the Indian Cyber law, it makes difficult for the users to compensate the WhatsApp messenger in any manner. Still there is a chance for the DoT to make the messenger App to obey our laws and make it legal. But it is heard that the encryption keys that are used by the WhatsApp are not available for itself to diagnose or recovery.

Such incidents are the alarming bells for the Indian Cyber laws framing authorities to be competent with the world cyber laws prevailing in other countries.