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Signal usernames (screenshot)

Signal usernames rolling out in beta, to keep your phone number private [Update: Availability]

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Update: After rolling out in beta last month, Signal has announced that usernames are now available to everyone.


Signal usernames have long been inexplicably absent from the secure messaging app, requiring users to share their phone number with contacts. That’s changing, however, in the latest beta …

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Banks fined for iMessage use | Wells Fargo offices pictured

Banks fined $549M for using personal iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal accounts

Enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has seen Wells Fargo and several other banks fined a total of $549M for using personal end-to-end encrypted messaging accounts to discuss company business.

The SEC said senior bank officials used personal iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal accounts when making business decisions …

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Messaging interoperability would be a nightmare for tech giants, but a dream for consumers

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Messaging interoperability – in which it would be possible to send a message to someone without knowing or caring which chat service they use – finally made it into the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.

It was one of the most controversial elements of the upcoming legislation, with some arguing that it would be a technological nightmare to implement, and others that it would benefit both startups and consumers …

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Cellebrite Physical Analyzer has functionality limited with iPhones following Signal blog post

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The Cellebrite Physical Analyzer – the most intrusive phone-cracking tool offered by the company – no longer supports the direct extraction of iPhone data, according to a document shared with us. This follows the discovery and exploitation of a vulnerability by secure messaging app Signal.

Signal discovered multiple security vulnerabilities in Cellebrite’s software, and was able to find a way to booby-trap iPhones to corrupt the results of a scan using Physical Analyzer …

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Signal uses an iPhone SE to hack Cellebrite phone-cracking software

Cellebrite phone-cracking software hacked by Signal

Secure messaging company Signal has successfully used an iPhone SE to hack Cellebrite‘s phone-cracking software. The company says that anyone could place a file on their iPhone that effectively renders useless any data extraction performed on the phone, and that it will be doing this for Signal users.

Signal says that the file could also compromise all past and future reports generated from the Cellebrite Windows app …

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Signal is the most private messaging app, but staff say it has no plans to prevent misuse

Signal is the most private messaging app but unprepared for misuse

The announcement of a change to the WhatsApp privacy policy saw many users looking for the most private messaging app to use instead. Signal and Telegram were the prime candidates in cross-platform apps, with the former having the strongest privacy protections, as no personal data is linked to users.

Apple was subsequently sued by a former US ambassador for allowing Telegram on the App Store after it was used by hate groups to threaten violence, and now existing and former Signal employees have expressed concern that the not-for-profit messaging app is failing to address the same issue …

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App privacy labels show stark contrasts among messaging apps

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Apple’s new app privacy labels went live in the App Store last month, giving users the chance to see what data is collected by each. We then explained how to view them.

All apps are required to show what data is used to track you, and what data is linked to your identity. Looking at that more comprehensive category reveals some stark differences between four popular messaging apps…

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Apple, Google & others condemn UK proposal to secretly add law enforcement to encrypted chats

Luxshare stealing secrets Apple supplier

Apple, Google, Microsoft and 44 other organisations and security experts have signed an open letter condemning a proposal to secretly add law enforcement organizations to encrypted chats and calls.

The proposal by GCHQ – Britain’s equivalent of the NSA – seeks to provide an encryption workaround that would breach privacy and security in apps like Messages, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Signal …


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Mac-specific vulnerability discovered with Signal’s self-destructing messages

A Mac-specific vulnerability has been discovered in the secure messaging app Signal.

Signal allows you the option of sending ‘disappearing’ messages which are automatically purged from the app after a preset time. This feature is often used for passing on the most sensitive information, to ensure there is no permanent record afterwards. But a security researcher has discovered a serious failing specific to the Mac app …


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