Signal may be vulnerable

  • @solune
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    33 years ago

    It looks like in order to decrypt it, they need access to a key that’s stored somewhere on your phone. Does anyone who has a better understanding of this know if encrypting your phone would be enough to prevent that (assuming they’re not able to get ahold of it while it’s unlocked)?

    • @chad1234
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      33 years ago

      Yes all the encrypted chats have an encryption key which is stored on your device or somewhere. So all of them are vulnerable to being read if your device is taken into custody - such as if you are searched, arrested or cross a border

      imo encrypting your phone at most delays them. Obviously yyou should encrypt your phone anyway, if you have sensitive data on it

      This celebrit thing is for the police. undoubtedly the NSA has easier access to reading everything easily. Unclear if police have the ability to crack an encrypted phone or not. It is possible that the police do not have this capability and it may be reserved for the national security groups.

      earlier we saw the drama over the encrypted iPhone of the two mass shooters and Apple refusing to decrypt them. IMO its a drama to make people believe encrypting your phone makes it safe and make people believe Apple is “privacy oriented”.

      You should avoid storing too much sensitive data on your phones. There are various case where people are coerced into giving their passwords

      Signal is garbage anyway and the NSA is able to see who is calling who due to the centralized design plus you need a phone number to create an account.

      • @solune
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        33 years ago

        Would the ability of the NSA and possibly the police to decrypt phones be due to a backdoor, and if so, could installing a different OS on the phone help prevent that?

        • @chad1234
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          33 years ago

          the leaks suggest a range of mechanisms but yes installing a different OS would help. that doesnt make you immune and there are still ways to crack other OS but it would close off the backdoors of google Android.

        • @chad1234
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          23 years ago

          installing a diff OS could brick your phone maybe. beware and maybe should use a cheap phone

    • @chad1234
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      33 years ago

      Remember also that if you cross an international border you can be searched without any reason. There are many reports of people having their devices searched and the whole contents copied. Domestically they have to have a reason to search you - suspicion of crime, warrant etc.

  • Marxism-Fennekinism
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    fedilink
    13 years ago

    This is a serious question: Seeing that everyone here is against western surveillance, what about China? Do you support their state surveillance programs and what makes them different?

    • @chad1234
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      43 years ago

      Yes, the Western media is running many stories about China’s surveillance programs.

      They are not of major concern to us since we do not live in China. Why should any of us care of the Tiktok is feeding our lame memes to China, we dont even live there.

      Secondly the Western surveillance system operates to prop up the capitalist imperialist system and to suppress the working class.

      the Five eyes surveillance system is much more extensive and sophisticated than anything operated by China Russia or Eye-ran. Western media obsession is projection or a diversion tactic

      • Marxism-Fennekinism
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        3 years ago

        Do you support China’s surveillence of their own citizens? That was actually what I was trying to ask.

        • @chad1234
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          33 years ago

          Do you support Western surveillance system?

            • @chad1234
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              23 years ago

              Fair enough. However, it is necessary in china due to being under constant attack from the capitalist powers.

              the Western surveillance also claims to fight terrorism as well but that doesnt mean we should not attempt to avoid it

              • Marxism-Fennekinism
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                3 years ago

                Just curious, do you see the fact that surveillance in China is highly centralized as an advantage or a disadvantage? Compared to western surveillance which is all over the place? I always see “Xi JingPing knows what you had for breakfast and can arrest you for it” as the biggest argument against it.

                I mean, I’ve heard that most Chinese citizens support the surveillance programs with the main argument that it really does prevent crime. I don’t know about their internal politics but the people within the system probably have the most accurate perspective on it.

                • @chad1234
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                  23 years ago

                  Exaggeration and Western one is much more extensive. NSA can monitor global communications in real time.

    • @redjokerOP
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      13 years ago

      I do, 100%. The US intelligence agencies are in a shadow war with China already. They fund ETIM terrorists to destabilize the country. Since 1990 ETIM-affiliated terrorists have killed over 1000 people, mostly Uyghur Muslims

      Westerners criticize Chinese Internet censorship, but I don’t see China having to wring their hands over measles, mumps, rubella, and whooping cough making a resurgence and filling graveyards with the bodies of children like they are here in the US. And getting on a VPN there to go over the firewall is trivial