TLDR: some government/military official added a reporter to a Signal group were some high profile people were discussing and sharing war plans. The app’s encryption is perfectly fine. It’s just clickbait.
The Signal and the noise: Why the messaging app is great for privacy but not for war plans.
Submitted 3 weeks ago by Tea@programming.dev to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
SavageCoconut@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Screen_Shatter@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Its not click bait, its a great layman’s terms explanation of the app and what it does. This is the kind of article I would send to my parents who are basically tech illiterate when this topic inevitably arises. It also clarifies points that were poorly reported by other outlets, which is necessary to call out, especially in our current informational climate.
billwashere@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
They weren’t war plans. They were attack plans. /s 🤦♂️
Bloomcole@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
genocide assisting murder plans
Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What about it is clickbait? That title is really upfront about signal’s encryption being fine.
FriendBesto@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
True. For war plans use Tinder, or maybe Pinterest.
Batman@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What’s wrong with the traditional war thunder comms?
FriendBesto@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Oh man, you got me there. ;-)
WereCat@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You surely meant Warthunder forums
kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Fundamentally the biggest security vulnerability in every peice of software is the end user. It does not matter how intelligently the software is designed, no amount of preparation can handle the users. That is not to say Signal has no security vulnerabilities but almost nothing can stop someone from inviting a random reporter (if they explicitly invited them). Furthermore I have a conspiracy theory of sorts, I dont think it was a mistake. I think Trumps own administration is trying to backstab him. Maybe they had ideas of becoming more powerful, maybe they thought Trump woupd reduce their power, but I feel that the amount of government leaks and just how complicated they are would suggest infighting.
piecat@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah- that is a bit odd. Who and if not intentional, how?
CobraChicken3000@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Very informative article. By most measures, it is pretty terrific at encrypting messages and protecting your privacy, just not when it’s wielded by idiots.
SmoothLiquidation@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I understand how the public key encryption works when you are messaging person to person. Does anyone know how it works with group chats?
Zak@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Each participant is sent a separate copy of each message encrypted with their own key.
wewbull@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
This is one way that signal differs from WhatsApp e2e in groups. In WhatsApp the server replicates the message out to all clients. It can’t read the message but it knows the recipient list. In Signal your phone sends the message several times, so only members of the group know who is in the group.
knobbysideup@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
The app doesn’t matter. Wrong fucking network.
wewbull@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
Absolutely right. Messages of the type they sent should never be on a public network whether they are encrypted or not.
Natanael@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
The military does tons of stuff over public networks, the key is using vetted hardware and their own VPN and communication tools which allows complete control over recipients.
No random unaudited consumer devices which might have various exploits known to outsiders, which might fall into the hands of spies, and which DEFINITELY does not have any active security monitoring.
Natanael@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
Wrong hardware!
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Ok, let’s pick the correct App for planning the rebellion.
FourWaveforms@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Truth Social. That way, nobody will ever see the plans
Bazoogle@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
And if anyone magically finds them, they’ll dismiss it as a crazy conspiracy
Atmoro@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Bluesky, Lemmy, Revolt, Spark, & Flashes apps
Those each cover a different aspect that will body everyone. We need a US Community on Revolt too not just Lemmy
Patch@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
We need a US Community on Revolt too not just Lemmy
Never heard of it before.
What’s the elevator pitch?
Amoxtli@thelemmy.club 3 weeks ago
Signal is traceable. Session is untraceable.
kn33@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Signal is gaining the network effect. Session is not. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough.
52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 3 weeks ago
If you can influence others to do so, use the better app. My family, we use Briar.
nyamlae@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
To be fair, variety makes groups more resilient. If Signal were to ever become compromised somehow, people who use other apps like Session will be okay.
It’s not a zero-sum game, either – people can use Signal and other apps.
rottingleaf@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think there was an article recently about Session devs, first, having their protocol derived from Signal’s, second, not knowing what they were doing with that, which would discredit it pretty hard.
Also everything is traceable, it’s a question of effort and who you piss off.
Amoxtli@thelemmy.club 3 weeks ago
You don’t know what you are talking about. Just because Session is a fork of Signal doesn’t mean it isn’t better, but is an improvement. Session adds identity protection and it is decentralized. There is no personal information needed to create accounts; no phone number or email required. There is no metadata storage. Had the Trump cabinet used Session instead of Signal, there would be no evidence to the identities of the individuals messaging each other. Signal requires a phone number to have an account which traces to an identity. The leaked war plans were not from encryption failing, but traceable identities.
komischerKauz@europe.pub 3 weeks ago
Good to know! I wanted to plan a war but looks like I need to use a diffrent app 😔
Deceptichum@quokk.au 3 weeks ago
Have you tried iWar by Apple? I find the mind-mapping tool really helpful for collaborating where to strike next.
CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Dude. We’re on Lemmy. Don’t be advertising some closed source app.
Missl is the best federated, defense first, FOSS war planning app available. You can self host using docker or use one of the many public instances.
WhatsHerBucket@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Sorry, that feature is only available in the iWar+ subscription, which is $9.99/mo
RageAgainstTheRich@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You can even try out their new AI feature. After 3 strikes, it learns who you like to strike the most and will give suggestions containing the most packed areas with as many children as possible. It also has in-app quests to complete such as wiping out a whole family in 1 strike.
It rewards you with points you can spend in the store to buy skins and other cosmetics for your missiles.
If you signup with your nintendo friend code, you can unlock the banzai bill skin.
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BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
4chan is what you need
FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
WarThunder forums has the highest experts apparently
desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Nah, too much moderation, go with one of the many more niche *chans, or even just one of the 8chan clones.
gjoel@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
I usually use Genocide Palestine. It’s actively developed and supported on all major platforms, in pretty much all countries.
oppy1984@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Battle plans you use Signal, war plans your going to want Threema, Session, or SimpleX.