Do you use Whatsapp? If so, you are likely to have come across a new privacy policy, coming into effect February this year. Fortunately, there are alternatives when it comes to data privacy and security – one such messaging app is Signal.
Here are some key features:
• End-to-end encryption (via Extended Triple Diffie-Hellman key exhange with AES-256)
• Using X3DH means that each message sent creates a new set of one-time ephemeral keys for the following session of encryption/decryption.
• Messenges are authenticated using HMAC SHA-256
• Encrypted group video calls (new feature courtesy of 2020)
• Encryption keys are stored on end devices, not on servers
• Signal collects and stores NO metadata of its users (Whatsapp collects a lot of metadata – 16 elements)
• Signal is open source – security professionals can audit the code for bugs or security vulnerabilities, and contribute to improve the software.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation endorses Signal as a “Surveillance Self-Defense Tool”
Want to learn more about what mobile apps do on our phones when not being used? Read our post on what your apps may be doing in the background, here.
fscyber.co 