Penulis In a world stricken by worries over illicit surveillance, a new generation of secure mobile communication apps wants to ride to the rescue of the privacy conscious. This type of application has been a cottage industry for desktop computers for years, usually for secure email or instant messaging, but the arrival of mobile platforms has given them the sort of kick that is leading many to dream of reaching the mainstream.
These days, activity in the sector is now so fevered that several platforms have launched in the second half of 2015 alone, a striking uptick for a type of software that used to be seen as the preserve of the technical users with a paranoid bent or political dissidents. Once small scale in their ambitions, the mostly new companies making these apps sense a huge opportunity to grab business users anxious about the implications of living in the post-Snowden world.
Android still tends to be the default platform although iOS versions are usually available after a short delay. The issue of platform support is more important that it might appear. Even if you don’t personally use an iPhone, say, the fact that your favoured contacts do will render any app that doesn’t support both platforms useless if the same app is needed at both ends. Some apps integrate with third-party applications, for instance email clients. That can be important for businesses – can the app support the preferred communications software used by an organisation and will it work across desktop as well as mobile? Some can, some can’t.
WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps out there, and while it might not be the most secure, it can offer a good level of protection even among times of controversy.
This week, WikiLeaks released information documenting over 8,000 CIA spying files in its 'Vault 7' collection. Reports surrounding this claimed that the CIA was able to easily bypass WhatsApp's (and Signal's) security systems and read user messages. In addition, WikiLeaks also said that the CIA uses malware and hacking tools to remotely hack smartphones and turn TVs into recording devices.
While understandably alarming, this information has been challenged by some, claiming that the WikiLeaks report is misleading. "The CIA has some exploits for Android/iPhone. If they can get on your phone, then of course they can record audio and screenshots," stated Robert Graham from Errata Security. "Technically, this bypasses/defeats encryption - but such phrases used by Wikileaks are highly misleading, since nothing related to Signal/WhatsApp is happening," he added.
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