FBI warns: Unless you want to spy, you should avoid sending SMS messages

The FBI and the US cybersecurity agency CISA have warned that you should stop texting on your mobile phone. Personal communication is preferred done through messaging apps with end-to-end encryptionLike WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger – but even these platforms need change, according to officials.

THE The first alert was triggered on December 4 this year. Hackers in China are exploiting the most vulnerable methods of text message communication to gather information, according to officials; The country’s spokesman denies the accusations.

The solution to prevent spying would be to use platforms where end-to-end encryption is active by default; for example WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Signal. THE method causes shared content to be seen only between receiver and sender.

Despite, Even these platforms need to guarantee ways to control the content of messages by court orderthe FBI asked. Currently, these platforms do not have the ability to deliver messages in full.

However, the development of such a solution could have a strong impact on public opinion. With a tool like this available, conversations are no longer 100% protected against the service provider.

old debate

Implementing mechanisms to decrypt end-to-end protected messages is an old debate and is eventually becoming a point of contention between governments and Big Tech companies. An example of a similar situation occurred with Apple, which announced a mechanism to detect illegal material from minors but was fined for abandoning the idea.

Although the absolute privacy of conversations on Messengers is a positive thing in terms of providing security to users, this It also paves the way for communication between criminals. The protection complicates investigations and allows unrestricted exchange of illegal content on messengers.

Each messaging platform handles legal and government requests differently. For example, in Brazil, Telegram tracks the activity of the 100 most popular channels.

Text messages are rare

Currently, very few users maintain conversations using traditional text messages and The number of those who do not use end-to-end protected standards is even smaller. Sending via iMessage between iPhones is 100% protected between sender and receiver, and the same goes for Android mobiles using RCS.

The problem lies in communication between iPhones and Android mobile phones: Text messages exchanged between ecosystems are not protected by encryption. Google offers a solution for the protocol. It is worth remembering that Apple only adhered to the RCS standard in iOS 18.