E2EE

Apple is introducing a new cryptographic protocol for iMessage that is designed to protect users from sophisticated attacks using quantum computers. The new encryption protocol could safeguard users from scenarios where encrypted data has been stored, only to be decrypted using a quantum computer at a later date. iMessage is the second messaging platform known to introduce support for quantum-security cryptography — Signal's PQXDH protocol was introduced last year — while adding another layer of security to protect users…

Eileen Sullivan / New York Times: US and UK law enforcement are bracing for an explosion of AI-generated CSAM, and criticize Meta, the authorities' best partner for flagging CSAM, over E2EE — Law enforcement officials are bracing for an explosion of material generated by artificial intelligence that realistically depicts children … Eileen Sullivan / New York Times: US and UK law enforcement are bracing for an explosion of AI-generated CSAM, and criticize Meta, the authorities' best partner…

Facebook Messenger is finally rolling out support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by default for individual chats and calls, the company announced on Wednesday. In the coming weeks and months, Facebook parent Meta says existing conversations will be protected by E2EE and new chats will also be protected by the technology. The company says that E2EE Messenger chats will offer the same features as previously unencrypted conversations including the ability to unsend messages, set chat themes, and send custom message…

Meta has silently updated its support pages to indicate that the company won’t let users on Instagram message their Facebook contacts anymore. The company, as pointed out by 9to5Google, said the feature will shut down mid-December — without specifying a date. The support page indicates that while you won’t be able to start new cross-platform conversations, your existing chats on Instagram will become read-only. The social media giant first introduced cross-platform messaging in 2020. And three…

Apple has strongly opposed a move by the British parliament to amend an act that would allow the government to order messaging services to weaken the encryption that protects their users. The Cupertino company said it will not compromise the end-to-end encryption that it offers to its iMessage users for one country. UK lawmakers are looking to weaken encryption of messaging services in an attempt to catch criminals, as part of proposed amendments to an existing law.The Online Safety Bill, which contains proposed…

WhatsApp and other messaging services have united to oppose Britain's plan to force tech companies to break end-to-end encryption in private messages in its proposed internet safety legislation.Meta-owned WhatsApp, Signal and five other apps signed an open letter saying the law could give an "unelected official the power to weaken the privacy of billions of people around the world".Britain's Online Safety Bill was originally designed to create one of the toughest regimes for regulating platforms such as Facebook,…

Image: Burdun Iliya (Shutterstock)An end-to-end encrypted chat app that collects almost no data and requires no personal information to sign up? Sounds like a dream come true for privacy enthusiasts. The only problem is that Threema, the Swiss privacy company behind the messenger in question, has been using an unreliable cryptographic protocol, whose bugs would have allowed a savvy hacker to access metadata related tousers’ supposedly safe and secret convos. Yikes indeed.Threema’s unfortunate security issues were…

Independent legal analysis of a controversial UK government proposal to regulate online speech under a safety-focused framework — aka the Online Safety Bill — says the draft bill contains some of the broadest mass surveillance powers over citizens every proposed in a Western democracy which it also warns pose a risk to the integrity of end-to-end encryption (E2EE). The opinion, written by the barrister Matthew Ryder KC of Matrix Chambers, was commissioned by Index on Censorship, a group that campaigns for freedom of…

Signal, the free and open source end-to-end encrypted messaging service, has become increasingly popular as an alternative to WhatsApp over the past decade with its support for end-to-end encrypted calls and messages. The feature is designed to prevent anyone except the sender and the intended recipient from accessing calls and messages sent on the app. In a recent interview, the president of the non-profit organisation behind Signal reportedly stated that the service would rather exit a country rather than compromise on…

Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)Amazon-owned home surveillance camera king Ring is making good on its promise to bring end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to a wider range of its devices. This week, the company added the encryption secretive for audio and video to its lower-cost battery-powered doorbells and cameras which were left out of the company’s previous E2EE rollout. The addition marks Ring’s latest attempt to correct course on a product history littered with privacy and security blunders.Privacy advocates and…