How to encrypt communications to have secure Android calls and text messaging

Image courtesy of Steve Crane at Flickr.com

In the digital age, maintaining your privacy seems to be a never ending battle sometimes. All kinds of companies and organizations have access to your personal data and information, and a few of them can spy on almost all methods of modern communication. 

In an effort to fight this trend, Open Whisper Systems has been at the forefront of encrypted mobile communications for quite some time. Their apps TextSecure and RedPhone, originally an exclusive feature in the CyanogenMod ROM, have brought secure and fully encrypted calls and text messages to smartphone users from all over the world.

With the aim of consolidating both options, Open Whisper Systems combined those two applications for secure communications into a single one, Signal. As a result, your calls and text messages can now take place away from prying eyes by installing a simple application, so we’ll take a look at how to achieve this:

1. Install the Signal app

All of TextSecure and RedPhone’s functionalities have been grouped into a single, open sourced application, called Signal. In order to start having encrypted communications that no one can eavesdrop, open the following link from your Android device to install the application:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcrime.securesms

The installation of Signal can be performed, free of charge, from the Google Play Store. If you were previously a user of TextSecure or RedPhone, you'll notice that Signal will be installed as an upgrade to your existing TextSecure application. Basically, the only difference is that Signal provides all of the functionalities of RedPhone plus encrypted SMS, so, if you wish, you can uninstall the RedPhone app once you’re done. Signal is also available on iOS, so your friends and family members who own an iPhone can also use the app on their devices.

2. Activate Signal and import messages

Once you’ve installed Signal for the first time, you will be prompted to register the device. Make sure the phone number is correct, then tap the “Register” button and click “Continue”. From here, an encrypted text message will be sent to your device to automatically complete the registration process. Once you have registered, you will be prompted to set Signal as your default SMS app. Tap the banner at the top of the screen to do this, then press “Yes” in the pop-up. From here, you’ll see a second banner that lets you import existing SMS messages, so touch it if you’d like to have all of your text messages brought to Signal.

3. Invite your friends to join

At this point, app itself is all set, but before you start making calls and sending text messages, you should familiarize yourself with how the system works. Signal can only fully encrypt calls and text messages if both parties in a conversation are using the app. Otherwise, all communications will be carried out via standard connections. To start a secure conversation, press the action button in the lower right corner, then select a contact from the list. If the user you selected doesn’t have the app installed, you’ll be notified and will have the chance to invite him or her to do so. The other party will receive a link to download the Signal app for iOS or Android.

4. Make encrypted calls and send encrypted text messages

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Once you have made sure that the other party has installed the Signal app on their device, the text box on the bottom of the screen will say “Send Signal message”. This means that the messages you send to this person will be encrypted end to end, so there is no way for anyone to spy on the conversation. If you wish to make an encrypted call, just find the phone icon at the top of the chat window and make sure it has a small padlock icon superimposed on top of it. If so, simply press the button and the call interface should appear, and the banner at the top of the screen will read “Signal call”, which means that the conversation will be fully encrypted. The little padlock icon may not be displayed on top of the call button on all devices. In some cases, even when both parties have the application installed, the call button might have the lock icon missing and the system’s stock dialer interface is launched instead of Signal’s calling interface. So apparently there are still some rough edges in the app, but these issues should be resolved soon.

Do you feel more comfortable knowing that all of your Android communications can now be encrypted? Hopefully this app will continue to grow, in order to restore people’s peace of mind when it comes to regaining their privacy and the right to protect their personal information and conversations.

Awesome discovery in revolutionary charging technology

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Researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, have designed a system of wireless charging for mobile devices, which allow longer distances of charging compared to the actual functioning system, with greater efficiency. This model is developed with materials surrounding the emitter and receiver. The wireless charge in mobile devices is probably one of the technological milestones with more research. Actually, there are already working devices that allow wireless charge, by placing the mobile in a charging base. The next step is to charge the mobile without ever taking it out of the pocket. This step is yet to be reached. But a team in the Physics Department from the Autonomous University of Barcelona developed a system capable of transferring electrical charge with high efficiency, between two separated circuits, using meta-materials. It is a system in experimental phase, should it be optimized and the load applied to mobile devices, it will allow the desired wireless charging at distances greater than today.

The induction phenomenon is the principle that allows the wireless charge for mobile devices, using a special case, adapted to the device and a base connected to the electrical grid. When the mobile is placed on the base, this generates a magnetic field that induces an electrical flow in the case, and without the need of a wire the battery begins to charge.

If the mobile is separated from the base, the energy is not transmitted with sufficient efficiency and battery cannot be charged. The new system developed by the research in Barcelona overcomes limitation. It is constructed with meta-materials that combine layers of ferromagnetic materials, like the magnets, and conducting materials, like copper. The meta-materials surround the emitter and receiver circuits and allow the transference of energy between them at a certain distance, with remarkable efficiency.

Image courtesy of Jim Pennucci at Flickr.com

With the use of the crowns of meta-materials, researchers have managed to increase the transference efficiency up to 35 times in the laboratory. Álvar Sanchez, the director of the research said: “and there is still a lot of room for improvement, since the theory tells us that efficiency can be increased considerably if we optimize the conditions and the experimental design is perfected”. The lead author of the article, Jordi Prat, explained “Surrounding the two circuits with the crowns of meta-materials, has the same effect as bringing them closer, as if the space between them became shorter”. Furthermore, the materials used to build the meta-materials, like copper and ferrite, are very common and easy to find. The early experiments in this direction, to concentrate static magnetic fields, required the use of superconductors, beyond the reach of day to day use for mobile devices. “Instead, with the use of low frequency electromagnetic waves, like the ones with use to transfer energy from one circuit to another, we just need conductors and conventional magnets”. Said Carles Navau.

In the patent process, participated Àlvar Sanchez from the Department of Physics Electromagnetism in UAB, with Academy and ICREA (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies) researcher Carles Navau, along with Jordi Prat, currently at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Innsbruck (Austria). The device has been patented by the UAB and there are companies from several countries interested in applying this technology. The research was funded by a Producte project of the Generalitat de Catalunya, for ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

The already achieved distance: 20 centimeters

A group of scientists from the ITMO University (St. Petersburg) and the Giricond Research Institute (both from Russia) proposed a wireless charging system with transfer efficiency of 80% at a distance of 20 centimeters. This was three months ago. The results were tested experimentally with a light emitter diode, which scientists managed to turn wirelessly. The system replaces the copper coils traditionally used with spherical dielectric resonators made of ceramic material with low loss and high permittivity. This step that prevents loss of metals, achieves greater efficiency.

Another innovation was to use resonant frequencies of higher order modes called magnetic quadrupole (A quadrupole or quadrapole is one of a sequence of configurations of electric charge or current, or gravitational mass that can exist in ideal form, but it is usually just part of a multipole expansion of a more complex structure reflecting various orders of complexity). The group found that the system operation quadrupole mode, rather than in the dipole mode, not only increases the system efficiency, but also makes it less sensitive to random orientation of the transmitter relative to the receiver.

The possibility of random orientation is an important step to achieve wireless charging stations of practical commercial use. Today, the wireless charging requires perfect alignment between the device and the charging base. The quadrupole mode does not require such precision. The researcher Polina Kapitanova stated that “This is just a pioneering work, but our experimental configuration now works with distances up to 20 centimeters and 1 watt of power”.

How Consumers Benefit from Bundled-Communication Services

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Telecommunication companies are constantly looking for ways to market their products and to analyze how clients can make use of all of the services they have to offer. Multi-play is the latest term that describes the way telecommunication companies are bundling their television, telephone, mobile phone and internet access into one package. Before companies used to only offer one or two of these services independently, but it seems to be the more the merrier. Back in the day each service was a completely different service offered, and it even had different companies offering each one. In reality, technology has taken us to the point where everything is converging into one service to the point that most home utensils are now completely integrated through the Internet of Thing (IoT).

For most telecommunication companies the services offered started off with landline phones. A landline in the 80s and 90s was the easiest way to communicate with others and keep in touch, or hold coast to coast meetings. The landline was the king of communications at a time. In 2013 statistics showed that there over 1.16 billion subscribers worldwide, which may seem like a lot of people, but in reality is a steep decrease if compared to the 1.263 billion subscribers in 2003. In ten years this tech, that uses radio waves for transmission, has become more and more scarce. The main reason is all of the updates that have occurred in the past decade that have almost completely replaced the landline technology with broadband and fiber optic connection, even in rural and remote locations. It is thought that by 2025, there will be no need for the landline at all. In the United States the current telecommunication companies are well aware of this, which has led them to package their services and find alternatives for users that include this new tech, but still does not leave behind the landline until the transition is complete.

For now, the major telecommunication companies in the US are bundling these services in a variety of different packages, known as multi-play. Multi-play is a term used in marketing that describes the way of bundling the different services like internet access, television, telephone and mobile phone service. This phrase covers all of these services and any other service that may pop up in the future or has now become more trending like VoIP or MiFi. It is divided into a few categories like dual-play, triple-play and quadruple-play. Dual-play services includes two services for example high-speed internet and a VoIP, or TV Cable and high-speed internet. These two services are bundled into one package deal with better rates than if they were taken individually. Triple-play where under one same subscription customers can bundle three communication services like internet, TV and landline. And finally, quadruple-play combines not only the three services mentioned above, but mobile services as well. By the end 2016 countries like the UK and the US expect all of their providers to offer quad-play. By convincing users of the need for each of the individual services and moreover that they are all needed simultaneously will be at the core of their success.  

Image courtesy of Ian Sterling at Flickr.com

There are many changes coming to the telecommunication industry, and the expectations that consumer have with what they expect to receive is becoming higher as the technology available offers new ways of communicating, or ways of doing it cheaper and faster. Consumers nowadays have their minds set on multi-use devices, networked products, personalized bundled packages and converged services. Convergence is known as the ability to migrate multiple communication services into one single network on a network architecture. A clear example of what is already happening in telecommunication convergence is a smartphone and how it allows you not only to place a phone call, but also go online to check social networks or email. These converged services could include on-demand video, digital TV, VoIP, wireless application and high speed internet. 

Most telecommunication companies are just starting to explore the different ways of offering convergence services. Although this is leading telecommunications to a brand new day where the three biggest telecom service companies will find that their objectives and services have merged, almost to the point where it will become only one industry that bundles all of them into one same network. The big players are all coming out to see who stays with the market and who can keep up with all of the demands of the tech-savvy users. At the end of the day, telecommunication and digital media are in need of monetization which boils down to traditional media networks, digital media networks, internet entrepreneurs and finally consumers. Consumers will always be after a high-quality service that offers excellent and interesting content. Traditional media networks, digital media networks and internet entrepreneurs are now seen with the task to fill the consumer’s needs by providing easy-to-find, niched content of high quality through membership or subscription packages that will be sure to give them everything they need in terms of telecommunication. The days of simply using the telephone to make calls is over, the future will be all about curation of content and bundling telecommunication services.  

The Most Secure Messaging Apps that you Probably Never Heard of

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A secure messaging system gathers a few characteristics that allow users to safely communicate without fear of having their conversations, images and data intercepted. Now, we are all aware of WhatsApp and different alternatives, but how many of them are completely safe. Even though WhatsApp can now make the cut, due to its latest upgrade, there are still other options out there that you may have never heard about. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) designed a Secure Messaging Scoreboard, which allows to compare specific data to analyze just how secure the messaging app is. It examines dozens of technologies and rates them to get a range of security best practices among the top messaging software out there, including chat clients, test messaging apps, email applications and video calling. We all use these apps on a daily basis, be it for work or to stay in touch with friends and family, but how sure are we that our information, conversations and data is safe while we communicate with others. This scorecard measures seven dimensions to evaluate if the communication app is secure. 

-Are they encrypted at all stages of the communication?

-Is the encryption end-to-end so the messaging companies can’t access your communications?

-Is there a way to verify who you are messaging?

-If for some reason, the encryption keys are stolen, is all of your previous information safe?

-Can the app code be independently reviewed?

-Is the design of the cryptography, along with the implementation, available for review?

-Finally, has the code and implementation been audited independently in the last year?

Now, it is important to clarify that these individual traits don’t guarantee a secure network, but instead the combination of all of them. Especially considering when an app fails, the first four should be present to ensure your security.

Which ones aren’t safe?

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If they are popular, they are probably not that safe. The most popular apps are usually the ones that don’t pass the test. In fact, from the most popular apps that were tested all failed, with the exception of iMessage. The other ones tested from the popular apps were: BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook Chat, Skype, Snapchat, Viber and WhatsApp. Although WhatsApp, didn’t pass the test at the time, it may be quite different with the end-to-end upgrade it made recently. BlackBerry Messenger, only passed the first criteria of being encrypted in transit, the same as Skype and Viber. Whereas Facebook Chat, Snapchat, and WhatsApp (again when the study was made) only passed in the previously mentioned criteria and the fact that they have had recent audits of their code. iMessage, as mentioned before, is one of the safest from this group of popular apps which passes on five of the seven criteria. It has the previously two that were mentioned, as well as having an encryptor so the provider can’t read your messaged, previous comments are secure even if your keys are stolen and the design is properly documented.

Which ones are safe, but you don’t know about?

In this category we’ll have some apps that I’m almost sure you’ve never heard of, but do fill all seven criteria; ChatSecure, Silent Phone and Silent Text from Silent Circle, and Signal, RedPhone and TextSecure from WhisperSystems.

ChatSecure is a free app you can download from iOS and Android, and uses a few cryptographic libraries that are very well-known such as XMPP, OTR and Tor. You can communicate with other users who are using the same app or other apps that use the same protocols.

Silent Circle has a subscription plan and it covers two of the apps that were evaluated with all seven criteria: Silent Phone and Silent Text. Both apps are available in iOS and Android. It is a sort of secure Skype. The different thing about these apps is that they can also call non-users and the call will continue to be encrypted.

WhisperSystems is actually the same company that designed the new encrypted system for WhatsApp. They initially started off with their RedPhone and TextSecure apps that are used on Android, and Signal for iOS. These apps integrate with the phone’s dialer on the android version, so you’ll always get the option of making an encrypted call of sending a secure message. On the iOS version, it’s not quite as integrated.

All of the apps mentioned could be used to ensure that your communication is secure and not in danger of being tapped by anyone, including the phone manufacturer or the apps designer. Online there are tons of ways of being hacked or tricked into handing over their personal information, by anyone from a hacker to the government. So, if you’re interested in keeping your communications private, feel free to use any of these because they comply with all 7 seven criteria and will for sure keep your conversation between you and the end user.

Encrypted Communication Popular in our Day

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After the major cases of data leakage and hacking of information, more and more individuals, companies, and government entities are looking for solutions to protect their privacy and their deepest secrets. 

The truth is that encrypted communication has always been present. The romans, for example, used encrypted messages to protect information that dealt with military content and to communicate during battles. Caesar was the one to be acknowledged as the first user of this system. That encrypted method was called “Caesar cipher” and it consisted of a strategy where each letter in a message was replaced by another letter, which was changed some places forward in the alphabet. However, it is believed that before him encrypted communication by substitution had already been used.

Before, encryption was mainly exclusive for departments and people in charge of the defense of a nation. Nowadays, companies and individuals want to know more about this technology and start implementing it in their daily communicative exchanges.

Why is it important?

Any communication that takes place in the internet is unencrypted. This means that if there is a malicious user that wants to “spy” the communication between the sender of a message and its recipient, this user is able to access information from this communication, and know exactly what is being transmitted. This fact can have more relevance according to the level of exclusiveness or secrecy of the information. If we were checking out web pages about the latest hairstyles, that would be irrelevant to security. But if we were accessing or providing our bank account information, that is a different story. 

Image courtesy of EFF Photos at Flickr.com

To avoid these sorts of situations, there is a technical solution that protects communication through encryption. Any kind of information can be encrypted. From web pages access information, to e-mails, etc. Encrypting information nowadays is an area of expertise that protects information using mathematics, computer science and engineering approaches.

The benefits of encrypted communication should be used specially in those interactions that transmit sensitive data. These might include passwords, personal information, financial records, etc. Security in this context means to perform communication in ways that does not allow a third party to access, read or listen to the communication session. The ways to protect internet communication can take the following forms:

• Protecting the content: hiding information or digital data.
• Protecting individuals performing communication: anonymity
• Protecting the communication environment: approaches to hide communication environment. 

The Case of WhatsApp

Recently, Whatsapp proved people its concern about protecting its users’ privacy. Its latest update informed the community about the implementation of a new technology where users can talk to friends, family and acquaintances and their communication will be encrypted. This unprecedented action stirred a desire in people to understand more about encryption and to be concerned more about their online privacy.

This newfound concern about online privacy on the web is valid for companies as well. There are many tools and encrypted technology systems for companies that allow organizations to take control over sensitive data, information access and communications policies.

Whatsapp case poses a question, if encryption should be applied to all communications. The truth of the matter is that it entirely depends on the nature of the information that is handled. Companies should identify their key issues and sensitive data that need to be protected and differentiated from trivial, harmless communication. Identification is key to developing policies and strategies for managing data. After the implementation of a communication action plan, raising awareness is crucial for educating personnel about the importance of handling information in a safe way, following the company policies.

Final Considerations

Encryption mechanisms have always existed and will continue existing, whether it is for companies, government agencies or individuals that want to protect valuable information. Recent cases of information leakage have raised awareness of the need for information privacy and protection both in public and private communications. Security in this sense means protecting information or digital data from any sort of attacking techniques, technologies or methods controlled by malicious users.

To sum up, advances in cryptography are offering strong enough protection for most of our e-mail communications, online transactions and valuable information, but the future is still uncertain in the changing face of technology because, when stronger cryptographic systems appear, new means to break them appear as well. The hope is that with the ongoing developments in this area, attacks and security breaking will be exponentially reduced if not eradicated. That is why more research and work needs to take place to take security measures one step further from malicious users and technologies against online privacy. The human factor is still critical in the effectiveness of all security applications and systems. The constant reinvention of online communications privacy still continues.

Understand wireless generations as they evolve

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Innovation is opening doors in a way that things seem without limits and a clear example of this is the evolution of the wireless industry. Its origins with analog based first generation service (1G) to today’s 4G, which is now truly a broadband-ready LTE network. Everything is advancing, from the technology from manufacturers to networking and software available. In just 10 years, the advancements have been amazing and it seems we can only continue to expect more advances in our wireless generations. As the bandwidth grow, so does the amount of services used by us to take advantage of the increasing connectivity we have available to us. At this rate, everyone in the world will have access to smartphones, that have the capacities to make use of the wireless generation available at the moment.

1st Generation Wireless Network (1G)

This first attempt to connect people via their mobile devices offered a basic voice service and analog-based products. It navigated at 24 kbps and was still quite slow in comparison to today’s needs and market.

2nd Generation Wireless Network (2G)

This updated version of the wireless network bumped up to 2G and this time offers voice, improved coverage and capacity, and first digital standards (GSM, CDMA). The speed also jumped up to 64 kbps. At this point it was still evolving, but at least offered access to the applications that were relevant at the moment.

3rd Generation Wireless Network (3G)

3G was designed for voice with some data like text, images and internet and it has the first mobile broadband available. The internet speed increased to 2,000 kpbs allowing users to interact seamlessly with the different apps that we all constantly used from our mobile devices. As many of you have already experiences, it can be somewhat liberating being able to do thing you would normally do on your desktop or laptop.

4th Generation Wireless Network (4G)

Finally, the current wireless network, 4G, not only has the basics but is really showing innovative technology advances. 4G will now let you use data as one of the primary ways of communicating, it will have IP-based protocols (LTE), and it will truly be a mobile broadband. This one will allow you to navigate with up to 100,000 kbps.

Image courtesy of Esther Vargas at Flickr.com

What to expect with this evolution?

The evolution will obviously find itself not only on one aspect of communication, instead you’ll find how the industry as a whole continues to grow steadily. So much, that today we use “kilobytes”, but we will soon need to start using “exabyte”, which is equivalent to 1 billion gigabytes. These kinds of advances will allow you to continuously have more access to the content and media being shared with mobile devices. Another driving factor behind this evolution are the smartphone users. They are increasing every year and of course telecommunication companies have to offer the next best thing to let this change continue. The best way to see how this industry continues to grow is by keeping its users happy. This can be achieved by enhancing network performance (19%), followed by the value of money (16%), and with approximately 10% each user will expect ongoing communication, tariff plans offered and customer support.

What’s next?

We may take today’s technological advances for granted, that is until we are seen in the position to use out-of-date devices or firmware. At this moment we can comparatively notice the mayor differences in speed, services provided and in general overall user experience. Next in line in the evolution of wireless generations is 5G. It’s already foreseen that this new and improved wireless generation will provide even more of everything.

5G is still not out in the market, but it is expected that by 2020 it will be the next generation available on most mobile devices in the major cities. South Korea, which usually gets a head start in the trials will begin in 2017, and the US in 2018. It’s already the buzz that the jump to this new generation will be quite significant and it will be a lot more than just faster mobile data. By innovating and dreaming up the new generation, they have to not only consider the needs of today but what we will need in the future of communication and mobile devices. The Internet of Thing (IoT), along with the transition from laptops to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, will interconnect our lives more everyday. 5G is expected to reflect this and much more. Although it will be fast, with an expected speed of 10 gbps, which will easily allow you to download HD movies in up to 4 seconds. This new gen will also bring a low latency, which is basically cutting down the time between operations on your mobile device, which after studies shows that this will be groundbreaking for self-driving cars and every other device that will be uploading and downloading data due to the IoT.

Where can you get more privacy when messaging?

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Are you wondering whether you should be using BlackBerry or WhatsApp Messenger? If you care about your privacy, you should seriously consider using BlackBerry. Right now it is a much safer and reliable alternative to keep your conversations private than WhatsApp. In 2013, new versions of instant messaging system for iOS and Android mobile devices were launched, and a week after that, BlackBerry Messenger had added 20 million people more, making the platform reach 80 million monthly visits. There is clearly evidence of a great interest.

BlackBerry Messenger was one of the first differential services of the company and security and privacy are two of the key features they focus on. It operates on the private network owned by the company. A large number of government security agencies have tested and approved this platform. They actually use it as well as banks and other multinational companies given that all messages sent by BlackBerry Messenger are encrypted. They are exchanged crossing the infrastructure of the company which has interconnection with a high number of carriers worldwide. This is important because it means that your message has to travel through less points to reach its recipient. So, you will see that the risk of third parties intercepting your message is highly reduced. The relationship BlackBerry has had with many telecommunications companies for so many years has led to the creation of this strategic advantage.

However, many users identify “BlackBerry” with the past; they tend to imagine plastic phones with keyboards that would allow you to check emails and send messages. Evidently, it is true. This company is one of the pioneers in the “revolution” of smartphones. In spite of the big effort in recent months to meet competition standards, this brand does not seem to achieve breaking off completely from the image they have of last century technology. However, it does not mean that their products and services are also out of date.

So, if BlackBerry Messenger offers the security and reliability that you should demand from any communication platform and WhatsApp has been proved to have so many security problems such as anyone can read your conversations, why is it more popular and has more users?

Image courtesy of Johannes Marliem at Flickr.com

WhatsApp is a simple communication cross-platform that works at a very low cost; one dollar per year. It came along at the perfect time with versions for all popular operating systems at the moment which were iOS, BlackBerry, Symbian –believe it or not- and Nokia S40. It became popular quite soon given that these type of applications were basically new and there were no many competitors which favored its position as leader. Shortly afterwards, versions for Android and Windows Phone were finally launched. Nowadays, it has millions of users and everyday it attracts more and more people around the world.

The model of this app is brilliant but the implementation is not, especially when it comes to privacy issues. There are still many questions regarding security, such as:

• Does WhatsApp save conversations? If it does, for how long?
• What happens to the messages from the moment they are sent until the recipient gets it?
• Why has WhatsApp taken so long to implement encryption in the chats?
• Why does it allow to access the system without a safer process that require a password to login? It is understandable that it makes things easier, but that is not a real justification to risk privacy.
• What does WhatsApp do with phone numbers besides using it as a user in the system?
• Why are WhatsApp efforts minimal for general security?

It is difficult to find answers to the questions and doubts about the company behind the service. What it is known for sure is that WhatsApp is not observed, in any way, by any government around the world which is curious because they are in charge of regulating telecommunications companies. Doesn’t it make it more dangerous?

In conclusion, it seems to be a good idea to replace WhatsApp by BlackBerry Messenger. It does not require annual subscriptions that appear by surprise because it is free. It has a multi platform -except for Windows Phone- and the most important aspect is that it is really safe. You might think that you do not need a safe platform because you don’t think you exchange interesting information.

However, you never know when you will end up talking about someone with your friends, or discussing sensitive work matters and even sharing documents, pictures or videos that can be used to harm you. The security system of BlackBerry Messenger is not perfect but you can trust in it. Some people keep saying that BlackBerry is so last century… Well, you might find interesting that Apple was founded 18 years earlier and it is still a company leader in the field of telecommunications. It is just a matter of perceptions.

A brief history of encrypted communications and cryptography

With the idea of better ​​understanding what cryptography is and how this discipline has evolved until today, let's take a look back in time to learn about the history of cryptography and information encryption.

The origins of cryptography

Though we may think of Claude Shannon, Alan Turing, or the NSA as references in the field of cryptography -and indeed they are-, this art goes much further back in time. Message encryption has been practiced for over 4,000 years and precisely the origin of the word cryptography comes from the Greek “krypto”, (hidden), and “graphos” (writing), that is, hidden writing.

A communication is encrypted only the when transmitter and the receiver are able to extract the information of the message; therefore anyone outside the communication will only be able to see gibberish and the content of the message will be completely hidden.

Image courtesy of Ismael Alonso at Flickr.com

Although the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt had no military intention, they are usually seen as one of the first examples of “hidden writing” in history, as the Rosetta Stone was needed to decode them. There are non-standard hieroglyphs which, according to experts, aimed to bring more drama to the story being represented. These inclusions seeked to provide greater mystery or intrigue to the story that was being described, and they would make the reading more complicated with the inclusion of unusual symbols although the practice be abandoned over time.

The Spartans also used cryptography to protect their messages; specifically, a technique known as transposition cipher which consists of a parchment scroll on a stick -called scytale- that served to sort the letters and display the message. To decrypt the message, the receiver needed to have a scytale the same diameter as the one used by the transmitter. This is known as symmetric cryptography because it was the only way to view the message as originally intended.

From Ancient Rome comes the encryption method known as Caesar cipher which, as its name suggests, its use is attributed to Julius Caesar himself. This encryption is based on the movement of letters and, therefore, each letter of the original text is replaced by another letter that is at a fixed number of positions later in the alphabet. According to the writings of the Roman historian Suetonius, Julius Caesar used a shift of three letters and Augustus, first emperor and grand-nephew of Julius Caesar, used a shift of just one letter.

Centuries later, during the Renaissance, one of the key figures of cryptography of this period was the German monk Johannes Trithemius, who published in 1518 a complete treatise on steganography and coding called “Polygraphia”. In the sixteenth century, in France, another of the key figures of cryptography was born: Blaise de Vigenère, whose work “Traicté des Chiffres” provided robustness to the codes that Trithemius proposed.

Modern times: Cryptography in the World Wars

During World War I, cryptography was intensively used. Germany developed the Ubchi code that decrypted by France, and Germany’s naval codes were deciphered by the UK, which allowed them to get ahead of Germany and prepare for battles such as the Jutland one.

Cryptography was key during World War II and, in fact, changed the course of the war. Germany had managed to dominate the North Atlantic with its fleet of submarines, and communications were indecipherable thanks to the Enigma machine. In addition to traditional fronts and battles between the armed forces, a new battlefield had appeared: to decode enemy communications; a task that the allies commissioned to a group of mathematicians, engineers and physicists, such as Alan Turing, who worked from the Bletchley Park facilities.

Image courtesy of Z33 Art Centre at Flickr.com

Perhaps the work of Alan Turing and the allies is the best known one on cryptography during the World War II; however it was not the only one. Encryption of communications marked the conflict and a varied set of techniques was used to prevent the enemy from intercepting communications. The United States, for example, reused a technique that had already successfully been used during World War I and, instead of resorting to complex encryption algorithms, they opted to use the languages ​​of Native Americans as a code.

The United States’ Marine Corps had among its ranks five hundred Native Americans who served as radio operators and they would encrypt, in their native language, messages to keep the Japanese army from understanding anything that was transmitted. Navajos and comanches were some of the native groups that were part of the ranks of the armed forces of the United States in operations in Africa, Europe and the Pacific.

Also in the Pacific front, the effort to break the encryption keys used by Japan was key to stopping their advances. Through joint efforts of the US and forces of the Netherlands and Britain, the Japanese naval code JN -25 was deciphered and, in this way, Japan’s battle plans could be known.

As we have seen, cryptography has played an important role in the history of mankind and its importance has increased, and so has the volume of information that has been generated or exchanged. The revelations of Edward Snowden about PRISM and other spyware online have made us think about cryptography, but in reality, it has always been present and it is there when we make a phone call with our mobile phone, when we use Telegram or perform an online purchase.

Why trust Open Whispers Systems with your security?

Image courtesy of Knight Foundation at Flickr.com

What is Open Whispers System?

Open Whispers Systems (OWS) was founded by Moxie Marlinspike in 2013 as a nonprofit software group that wanted to find a way to secure voice calling and instant messaging and did so through an app called Signal. By encrypting communication, it allowed thousands of people to maintain highly secure and encrypted conversations with loved ones and friends. Since they are a non-profit they depend on donations and grants, and they publish all of their software as free and open-source. Normally, encrypting your communication was something you needed working knowledge of certain technology to understand and even more so apply. It all seemed way too confusing and unreachable, but OWS has made it an everyday possibility for all us mortals that don’t understand how it all works. Their reputation now precedes them now, reason why most feel very comfortable entrusting their communication security in their open source apps, including whistleblower and privacy advocate, Edward Snowden.

What is their purpose?

By turning your mobile device into a safe way to communicate, they are ensuring that the average person can find the level of security they want and in all the levels of communication they want from emails, to voice calls and instant messaging. Their trustworthy apps are spreading fast and have now even partnered with the largest instant messaging app in the world right now, WhatsApp.

In Marlinspike’s words, “We want to make private communication simple. Our objective is to do new cryptographic research and development that advances the state of the art while simultaneously making it frictionless and accessible for anyone.”

What apps or systems have they developed?

They have designed many apps that all are geared towards helping with this same purpose. Here a some of them:

BitHub: This service for BitCoin automatically pays a percentage to the funds in this app for every submission to a GitHub repository

Signal: One of their most popular open-source app, which is available on iOS and Android, is used to encrypt all communications to other Signal users with end-to-end protocols. With Signal you can send group messages, media messages and attachments. With this app, you can make calls over Wifi or data connection and they are completely free. The app has a series of ways of assuring that your call has the best security including a no man-in-the-middle attack, secret words on both ends and their communications go through more than dozens of servers spread out over 10 countries.
Signal Desktop: This Chrome app version of Signal can link with other Signal users. In it’s beta version it can only link with the Android version of Signal.

TextSecure-Server: This is the message routing software that is used in Signal data channel. The client-server communication is protected by TLS.

They have also other apps and software that are no longer active like:

Flock: This app used to sync calendar and contact information on Android devices, where users could host their own server. The service was later terminated on October 1, 2015 due to high server costs.

Red Phone: This Android app is a stand-alone for encrypted voice calling services. It was designed specially for VoIP calls on mobile phones with end-to-end encryption. RedPhone was later merged with TextSecure on November of last year to become Signal, OPW’s trademark app.

TextSecure: Used to be a stand-alone application for encrypting messages on Android until it merged with RedPhone. I could send and receive SMS, MMS and instant messages. It used also used end-to-end encryption to secure all message among users on this network.

Image courtesy of  Richard-G at Flickr.com

What is new with OPW?

The team of OPW, lead by Moxie Marlinspike, is becoming very well known for its advocacy of privacy and is even initially teaming together with Twitter to help develop a more secure server, and the latest collaborative project with Facebook’s WhatsApp to develop a complete end-to-end encryption that was launched recently. Even though, these other projects continue to move their efforts of the importance of privacy to the apps people are currently using, their original project Signal paved the road enabling journalists, activists and democracy advocates to communicate securely without making it even more difficult to make their visions come true. In a way it could be said that it has saved lives and they continue raising the bar by bringing their highest level of security to the globalized messaging app, WhatsApp.

The rest of the team, Tyler Reinhard, Lilia Kai, and Riya Abraham, are all on board while trying to bring security to everyone’s pocket with a messaging and calling service where you can say anything, be yourself, stay private and organized without having to pay extra. Since it’s open source, they are constantly updating and tweaking the codes to make sure it is the highest possible security available. Marlinspike continues to push the boundaries, along with his team, to make sure individual can easily and seamlessly keep their information safe.