Lucas Ropek covers cybersecurity and privacy for Gizmodo. You can follow his coverage here, and email story ideas and tips to lropek@gizmodo.com.
Concern about the powers of quantum computers (which haven’t actually been invented yet) has spurred one of the biggest cryptographic breakthroughs of the era: post-quantum encryption algorithms. Last year the National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded a nearly decade-long competition to develop new algorithms to protect from quantum attacks. The algorithms are expected to see broader deployment by federal agencies this year, though experts estimate that it may take as long as a decade for post-quantum cryptography to really start seeing active use.
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You should donate to Signal. Meredith Whittaker, the new CEO of the popular E2E encrypted chat app, has said the platform is looking for a long-term financial strategy to keep the messenger—which has historically been free—up and running. Whittaker has clarified she’s interested in “optional donations,” not a subscription service. While paying for something that is technically free might sound bad, let’s do a cost-benefit analysis here: If it’s between shelling out a few bucks now and then to keep your conversations private, and leaving your data to twist in the wind, which are you going to choose? We don’t actually know what the future holds for Signal but the point is, paid or not, supporting the platform is a good idea.
Elon Musk will make good on his promise to encrypt Twitter messages. Am I sure about this prognostication? No, not at all. However, amidst the dumpster fire of post-Dorsey Twitter, Musk has consistently done what he said he was going to do. Unfortunately, a lot of that stuff has turned out to be stupid... but encrypted messaging is an exception to this rule. We’re also witnessing an end-to-end-encryption arms race in Silicon Valley right now with the rollout of E2EE iCloud backups, Meta’s supposed Messenger encryption plans, and Google’s decision to introduce E2EE for Gmail. If Musk maintains his role as CEO long enough, he will deliver on this.
Source: Gizmodo