openwhispersystems
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Amazon pushes Signal creators to change their anti-censorship tool
For years, Open Whisper Systems has used clever tricks to circumvent censorship of its Signal messaging app on the part of countries trying to silence political dissent. Those methods are getting it into hot water, however. Amazon has warned OWS that Signal's anti-censorship system violates AWS terms of service not only hiding the true origins of its traffic, but by using a domain it doesn't have the rights to use -- namely, Amazon's own Souq.com. The chat service doesn't have permission to use Souq's internet domain "for any purpose," Amazon said.
Signal test uses DRM to keep your contacts private
Signal is generally viewed as the most secure encrypted communications app. So secure, that even the US Senate has approved it for staff use. And, to keep privacy experts on its side, Open Whisper Systems (the non-profit behind the app) has kept Signal open source and peer-reviewed. But, the developer is having to juggle robust privacy with all the popular features a chat app is expected to provide in this day and age. It's proven a tricky balancing act -- particularly in regards to access to user contacts. Just like its (now encrypted) rivals, Signal asks to import your phone contacts in order to tell you who's using the app. For the stricter privacy advocates, that's always been a niggling issue. But, Signal claims it has a fix. With its latest test, the app is trialling a completely private contact discovery service.
Signal tests changes to how users verify secure contacts
Last November, Signal introduced a few changes to how it manages its safety numbers -- the unique code given to each conversation you have on the app. Safety numbers can change because someone gets a new phone and reinstalled the app or because the conversation has been compromised. Typically, whenever that code changed, those in the conversation had to manually approve the new safety number before sending or receiving any additional messages.
Signal's encrypted video calling is now available to all
Signal, the encrypted chat app from Open Whisper Systems, now lets anyone chat privately on video. The feature, which first launched on Android last month, has come out of beta and is now available on both Android and iOS. The company spent the relatively short beta period "collecting feedback and addressing the issues" found by beta users, it said. As with texts and calls, video is encrypted end-to-end, so nobody, including spy agencies, can eavesdrop on your business.
Signal tries its hand at encrypted video and voice calling
Open Whisper Systems' Signal app is no longer limited to keeping text chats out of the wrong hands. A beta version of the Android app now includes experimental support for video and voice calling. Both sides of a conversation will have to switch the features on in settings for this to work, but you're otherwise free to talk knowing that encryption should prevent eavesdropping.
Open Whisper Systems defends Whatsapp against 'backdoor' claims
Last spring, Whatsapp announced that every message on its service is delivered with end-to-end encryption, meaning no one, not even Whatsapp, can tell what's inside. Now, a report by The Guardian cites a security researcher claiming that its implementation is open to being backdoored or hijacked by government agencies. Whatsapp, and the people who helped design the implementation for its secure messaging, state this isn't the case, and instead, reflects a user experience design decision that isn't putting users at risk. Whatsapp's secure messaging was implemented with help from Open Whisper Systems -- makers of the secure messaging app Signal -- and on its blog, the company explains how things work. Based on its Signal Protocol (also used for encrypted messaging in Google's Allo), each client is identified by a public key that's shared with other people, and a private key on the device. Because people change phones, or uninstall and reinstall apps, the pair of keys can change. Users can ensure their communication is secure by checking the security code displayed on each end, if it matches, then they can be sure their messages aren't subject to a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack by a third party.
Encrypted chat app Signal sidesteps censorship in Cuba and Oman
Signal, the messaging app that prides itself on circumventing government censorship, has a few new places where its flagship feature works. Last week it was Egypt, and now users in Cuba and Oman can send messages without fear of them being intercepted and altered by lawmakers. As VentureBeat reports, the domain fronting feature is only available on Android now, but, like the Egypt update, it should arrive on iOS shortly thereafter. Given Cuba's penchant for censoring what its citizens see, and its launch of state-sponsored home internet service, the timing is perfect.
Encrypted chat app Signal circumvents government censorship
Just days after Open Whisper Systems concluded the Egyptian government had blocked access to its encrypted messaging service, Signal, the company rolled out an update that circumvents large-scale censorship systems across Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. The update also adds the ability to apply stickers, text and doodles to images, but that's just icing on the censorship-evading cake.
Google's extra-secure Allo chat uses familiar encryption tech
Does the extra-private messaging in Google's Allo seem familiar? Your eyes don't deceive you: You really have seen it before. Open Whisper Systems has confirmed that Allo uses its Signal protocol for end-to-end encryption when you're in Incognito Mode. Yes, that means that Google and Facebook-owned WhatsApp are sharing the same underlying security technology. Not that there's much reason to complain. The protocol is strong enough that privacy advocates like Edward Snowden approve, and its open source nature makes it relatively ubiquitous.
Every message in WhatsApp is completely encrypted
Surprise! WhatsApp, one of the most popular online communication services in the world, now uses end-to-end encryption on every device and for every message, whether it's voice, text, photo, video, group or one-on-one. Open Whisper Systems, an organization that aims to advance secure communication technology, worked with WhatsApp over the past year to implement a full-coverage encryption system. Today, WhatsApp users will see notices in their conversation screens as their messages become secure.
Secure messaging app Signal is coming to Chrome
Open Whisper Systems announced Wednesday that it is bringing its encrypted open-source messaging app to the desktop. The Signal app enables users to communicate privately via its end-to-end encryption scheme and the same protections are being extended to the new beta Chrome application. What's more, the desktop and Android mobile apps can be linked so that they share a single logon. The company is currently working on adding the same functionality to the mobile iOS app, though there's no word yet on when that will be ready.
Snowden's favorite secure chat services unite in one Android app
Want to keep your text and voice chats truly private, the way NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden does? You'll want to try Open Whisper Systems' Signal for Android, then. The newly launched, Snowden-approved app merges OWS' existing RedPhone and TextSecure products into a single client -- you can communicate over an end-to-end encrypted connection without having to switch apps as you switch formats. The code is open source, too, so you can verify that there aren't any government back doors. It's really just an amalgam of features you've seen before, but it could make a big difference if you're determined to keep your conversations away from prying eyes.
CyanogenMod to encrypt text messages by default with latest update
Android users worried that the government is spying on their smartphone now have a new privacy option: CyanogenMod. Starting with today's nightly 10.2 build, the custom firmware will encrypt SMS and MMS messages sent to any device using the TextSecure protocol, including fellow Cyanogen users. Users won't have to do a thing; the cryptography runs automatically in the background, regardless of the text messaging app. The encryption won't reach CyanogenMod 11 or other releases until the company is confident that everything is running smoothly, but it shouldn't be long before many Android users can chat with a greater level of secrecy.
