- FBI warns Americans about using encrypted messaging apps
- Advice following cyber attack on US telecom companies
- Encrypted messages are only as secure as the device receiving them
Tl;DR What should you use?
WhatsApp, Signal and Facebook Messenger all offer end-to-end encryption. If you’re using iOS and chatting with someone using an Apple device, Messages and FaceTime are secure, but conversations with non-Apple devices are not encrypted. Regular SMS messages are not encrypted, RCS encryption depends on who you are talking to.
In the wake of massive cyberattacks targeting U.S. telecommunications providers, FBI urges Americans Use encrypted messaging apps to secure mobile communications. But why does it matter?
This warning occurs after one of the The largest intelligence leak incident in American history. The China-linked Salt Typhoon group used New backdoor malware Attack network operators such as AT&T and Verizon to monitor the activities of their customers.
Salt Typhoon will begin operations as early as 2022 and target government agencies, politicians, and key industries in the United States. The scale and severity of this latest attack are concerning.
It targets flaws in cybersecurity products such as firewalls and VPNs, as well as backdoors used by law enforcement agencies to spy on foreign targets and conduct phone eavesdropping. Once hackers breached these networks, they were able to deploy more malware and collect information, including the contents of phone calls and text messages, according to the FBI.
That’s why the FBI recommends Americans instead use Best encryption apps to protect their communications. But what does this actually mean? Do encrypted messages really protect you from cybercriminals? This is what experts recommend.
What do the experts say?
Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), mandated that U.S. citizens use encryption during a briefing with reporters.
“Whether it’s text messaging or the ability to use encrypted voice communications, encryption is your friend,” Green said. “Even if an adversary is able to intercept the data, it becomes impossible if the data is encrypted.”
The proposal was welcomed by privacy experts, who have long advocated for wider use of encrypted communications systems.
“If anti-encryption advocates have their way, the United States will now be unable to defend itself against this kind of massive snooping from foreign powers,” commented Greg Nojem, senior advisor and director of the Security & Surveillance Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
What the FBI recommendation failed to mention was that the Salt Typhoon hack exploited a backdoor that allowed law enforcement agencies to obtain communications from suspects.
Cybersecurity experts have long warned that any backdoor access, even with good intentions, carries the risk of being used for nefarious purposes.
written in dialogue“It’s somewhat ironic that one of the government-recommended countermeasures against Salt Typhoon espionage was to use highly encrypted services for phone calls and text messages,” said Richard Forno, assistant director of UMBC’s Cyber Security Center. Encryption capabilities have been decades in the making try to destroy This way only “good people” can use it.
What should you do?
“If you want a little bit more security and privacy, consider using end-to-end Encrypted messaging service For example Signal, FaceTime or Messages.
End-to-end encryption adds an important layer of security to your digital conversations. Simply put, it scrambles your messaging data into a form that is unreadable by third parties. Content can only be decrypted using a key – and only the sender and receiver have that key.
You’re most likely already using a messaging service with end-to-end encryption. Applications such as WhatsAppSignal and Telegram are end-to-end encrypted, Google message and apple information.
These options are much more secure than SMS and RCS: because these are unencrypted messaging protocols, they can be easily read by cybercriminals if intercepted.
While end-to-end encryption is important, it’s not the complete solution the FBI recommends. Because the key to encrypted messages is stored on your device, anyone with access to the device can decrypt and read your messages.
That’s why it’s also important to follow some Basic steps To protect the security of your smartphone and other devices. This includes software version updates to keep your device up to date. You should also use strong passwords as another line of defense against data leakage. To help you, you can use one of these best password generator.
“Make sure you are not using default or easily guessable passwords on your device,” Forno advises. “And consider using two-factor authentication to further strengthen the security of any critical internet accounts.”
Two-factor authentication This means that anyone trying to access your account must implement a second layer of security, such as providing a code sent via email.