The FBI has issued a warning highlighting the cybersecurity risks associated with texting between Android and Apple devices. This vulnerability arises from differences in how these platforms handle communication protocols, making texts vulnerable to interception. When sending texts between iPhones and Android devices, messages are not protected by end-to-end encryption, making them vulnerable to hacking.
Apple’s iMessage among iPhone users, and Google Messages among Android users, also use end-to-end encryption using Signal’s protocol. However, texts exchanged between iPhone and Android devices are not fully encrypted, making them insecure.
according to nbc newsA group of malicious actors, known as “Salt Typhoon” and believed to be based in China, recently targeted major U.S. carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, to spy on customers. Have infiltrated telecom companies. Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger revealed that the impact of the cyberattack extended far beyond the US, affecting “dozens of countries around the world”.
A senior official further revealed that hackers have accessed a large amount of phone data of US citizens. The primary purpose of this breach was to identify potential targets for more sophisticated and aggressive espionage.
Here’s what to do:
To increase security, the FBI recommends using encrypted messaging platforms like Signal or WhatsApp, which offer end-to-end encryption, ensuring that messages remain private. Specifically, encryption is a technology that scrambles a message and requires a “key” to be able to view or listen to it.
End-to-end encryption ensures that only the sender and recipient of the message have the unique decryption key. This means that corporate owners and operators of the app cannot even access encrypted messages, even if forced by court order or in the event of a hack.
Google Messages and iMessage also offer end-to-end encryption, but only for messages sent between devices with the same operating system. Additionally, users are advised to avoid relying on default SMS or MMS services, as these lack adequate protection against interception.
“Our suggestion, what we’ve told people internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether it’s on text messaging or if you can use encrypted voice communications. Even if an adversary is able to intercept data “If it’s encrypted, it will make it impossible to do,” explained Jeff Green, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CSIA). NBC News.
An anonymous FBI official recommended that individuals seeking increased communications security consider using cellphones that receive timely operating system updates, devices with responsibly managed encryption and protected by phishing-resistant two-factor authentication. Eat.
