Current:Home > ContactOne Tech Tip: How to protect your communications through encryption-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
One Tech Tip: How to protect your communications through encryption
lotradecoin withdrawalspeed View Date:2024-12-26 02:37:59
LONDON (AP) — After a sprawling hacking campaignexposed the communications of an unknown number of Americans, U.S. cybersecurity officials are advising people to use encryption in their communications.
To safeguard against the risks highlighted by the campaign, which originated in China, federal cybersecurity authorities released an extensive list of security recommendations for U.S. telecom companies — such as Verizon and AT&T — that were targeted. The advice includes one tip we can all put into practice with our phones: “Ensure that traffic is end-to-end encrypted to the maximum extent possible.”
End-to-end encryption, also known as E2EE, means that messages are scrambled so that only the sender and recipient can see them. If anyone else intercepts the message, all they will see is a garble that can’t be unscrambled without the key.
Law enforcement officials had until now resisted this type of encryption because it means the technology companies themselves won’t be able to look at the messages, nor respond to law enforcement requests to turn the data over.
Here’s a look at various ways ordinary consumers can use end-to-end encryption:
Texting
Officials said the hackers targeted the metadata of a large number of customers, including information on the dates, times and recipients of calls and texts. They also managed to see the content from texts from a much smaller number of victims.
If you’re an iPhone user, information in text messages that you send to someone else who also has an iPhone will be encrypted end-to-end. Just look for the blue text bubbles, which indicate that they are encrypted iMessages.
The same goes for Android users sending texts through Google Messages. There will be a lock next to the timestamp on each message to indicate the encryption is on.
But there’s a weakness. When iPhone and Android users text each other, the messages are encrypted only using Rich Communication Services, an industry standard for instant messaging that replaces the older SMS and MMS standards.
Apple has notedthat RCS messages “aren’t end-to-end encrypted, which means they’re not protected from a third party reading them while they’re sent between devices.”
Samsung, which sells Android smartphones, has also hinted at the issue in a footnote at the bottom of a press releaselast month on RCS, saying, “Encryption only available for Android to Android communication.”
Chat apps
To avoid getting caught out when trading texts, experts recommend using encrypted messaging apps.
Privacy advocates are big fans of Signal, which applies end-to-end encryption on all messages and voice calls. The independent nonprofit group behind the app promises never to sell, rent, or lease customer data and has made its source code publicly availableso that it can be audited by anyone to examine it “for security and correctness.”
Signal’s encryption protocol is so reputable that it has been integrated into rival WhatsApp, so users will enjoy the same level of security protection as Signal, which has a much smaller user base. End-to-end encryption is also the default mode for Facebook Messenger, which like WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms.
What about Telegram?
Telegram is an app that can be used for one-on-one conversations, group chats and broadcast “channels” but contrary to popular perception, it doesn’t turn on end-to-end encryption by default. Users have to switch on the option. And it doesn’t work with group chats.
Cybersecurity experts have warned people against using Telegram for private communications and pointed out that only its opt-in ‘secret chat’ feature is encrypted from end-to-end. The app also has a reputation for being a haven for scammers and criminal activity, highlighted by founder and CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France.
Making calls
Instead of using your phone to make calls through a wireless cellular network, you can make voice calls with Signal and WhatsApp. Both apps encrypt calls with the same technology that they use to encrypt messages.
There are other options. If you have an iPhone you can use Facetimefor calls, while Android owners can use the Google Fiservice, which are both end-to-end encrypted.
The only catch with all these options is that, as with using the chat services to send messages, the person on the other end will also have to have the app installed.
WhatsApp and Signal users can customize their privacy preferences in the settings, including hiding IP address during calls to prevent your general location from being guessed.
___
Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at [email protected]with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
veryGood! (177)
Related
- Sofía Vergara Responds After Joe Manganiello Says Her Reason for Divorce Is “Not True”
- A boozy banana drink in Uganda is under threat as authorities move to restrict home brewers
- Somalia dismisses Ethiopia-Somaliland coastline deal, says it compromises sovereignty
- Save Up to 50% on Hoka Sneakers and Step up Your Fitness Game for 2024
- Emily in Paris' Ashley Park Reveals How Lily Collins Predicted Her Relationship With Costar Paul Forman
- Migrants dropped at New Jersey train stations to avoid New York bus restrictions, NJ officials say
- Horoscopes Today, December 30, 2023
- Tom Wilkinson, The Full Monty actor, dies at 75
- A stowaway groundhog is elevated to local icon
- 15 Practical Picks to Help You Ease Into Your New Year's Resolutions & Actually Stick With Them
Ranking
- Clint Eastwood's Son Scott Shares How Family Is Doing After Death of Christina Sandera
- Shots taken! Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen down tequila again on CNN's 'New Year's Eve Live'
- Access to busy NYC airport’s international terminal restricted due to pro-Palestinian protest
- Washington vs. Michigan: Odds and how to watch 2024 CFP National Championship
- A stowaway groundhog is elevated to local icon
- Joey Daccord posts second career shutout as Seattle topples Vegas 3-0 in Winter Classic
- Taylor Swift dethrones Elvis Presley as solo artist with most weeks atop Billboard 200 chart
- Rohingya refugees in Sri Lanka protest planned closure of U.N. office, fearing abandonment
Recommendation
-
Big Georgia county to start charging some costs to people who challenge the eligibility of voters
-
Elvis is in the building, along with fishmongers as part of a nautical scene for the Winter Classic
-
The 10 best NFL draft prospects in the College Football Playoff semifinals
-
Access to busy NYC airport’s international terminal restricted due to pro-Palestinian protest
-
'Truffles is just like me:' How a Pennsylvania cat makes kids feel proud to wear glasses
-
Heavy Russian missile attacks hit Ukraine’s 2 largest cities
-
A missing person with no memory: How investigators solved the cold case of Seven Doe
-
Powerful earthquakes leave at least four dead, destroy buildings along Japan’s western coast