Comment on Signal under fire for storing encryption keys in plaintext

• eco_game@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  As the article states, currently all processes are able to read the file which contains the key. Instead, you could store the key in the macOS Keychain (and Linux/Windows equivalents), which AFAIK is a list of all sorts of sensitive data (think WiFi passwords etc.), encrypted with your user password. I believe the Keychain also only let’s certain processes see certain entries, so the Signal Desktop App could see only its own encryption key, whereas for example iMessage would only see the iMessage encryption key.

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  • TheEntity@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    There is no single keychain on Linux, and supposedly on Windows too. Signal would need to either support a few dozens of password managers or require a specific one, both options terrible in their own way. This isn’t something that can be done without making broad assumptions about the user’s system.

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    • eco_game@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I’m not too knowledgeable on that topic, but doesn’t Linux store WiFi or smb-share passwords in some keychain?

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      • TheEntity@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Either multiple different keychains or even you can have no keychain-like application in your system at all.

        The WiFi passwords are usually stored in /etc/NetworkManager as plain files. Granted, they are not accessible directly by non-root users as they are being managed by the NetworkManager daemon, but there is nothing generic for such a thing. Signal rolling a similar daemon for itself would be an overkill. The big desktop environments (GNOME, KDE…) usually have their own keychain-like programs that the programs provided by these environments use, but that only solves this problem for the users of these specific environments.

        To me it’s perfectly expected the Signal encryption keys are readable by my user account.

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  • muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Wifi passwords are piss easy to read out well at least on windows.

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    • eco_game@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Only if you’re logged in as an Administrator though. A “standard” user account can’t access WiFi passwords on Windows.

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      • muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Because a non admin account is the default right? Right?

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• boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Something you know, something you have, something you are.

  3FA:

  • Pin
  • Security Key/TPM/Secure element
  • fingerprint / iris scan

  You could also start with just one of these

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  • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    fingerprint / iris scan

    Nope, I’m out. I’m not giving my unchangeable biological data to the Computer Gods because A) Fuck that and B) the police in my country can compel the use of biometrics to unlock things but cannot compel you to give up your pass as it is protected by the first amendment. Yes I think the bios should be protected too but that isn’t the reality in which I live.

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    • FutileRecipe@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Nope, I’m out.

      From the person you replied to, emphasis mine:

      You could also start with just one of these

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      • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I’m cool with non-biometrics.

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    • boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yeah that factor may not be wanted. But it is a security factor.

      You could hash it securely so the computer gods dont know your fingerprint. And you could only use it in addition to another factor.

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  • veniasilente@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Isn’t the idea that not everyone has access to your biometrics?

    There’s honestly no need to make computers ask people for piss scans:

    something you know

    A password

    something you have

    Access to the password

    something you are

    The person who knows the password

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    • boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      A password can be cracked and is often very bad.

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      • veniasilente@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        But that can be said of any of the other such called factors:

        A yubikey can be stolen

        A fingerprint can be scanned and distributed

        So its not really an argument against passwords (or passkeys, or passwordless, or whatever marketing want to call them these days).

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