Open Whisper Systems defeats government subpoena of Signal data with encryption
If you think you and your data are safe on the internet, think again. As we increasingly entrust companies with our data and information, many of these entities end up letting us down. For instance, in a bombshell reveal, we recently learned that Yahoo was scanning user email for the US government. Yes, the company violated the trust that users gave it.
Earlier this year, Open Whisper Systems was served with a subpoena from the Eastern District of Virginia asking it to turn over Signal messaging user information for a federal grand jury investigation. While this sounds like the beginning of a sad story for users of the service, it is actually a beautiful tale with a very happy ending. You see, thanks to the company's focus on encryption and smart design, it was unable to turn over any meaningful data. In other words, the service was created in such a way that the desired information couldn't be presented even if the company wanted to. Too bad that Yahoo didn't design its services in the same way, eh?
"We've designed the Signal service to minimize the data we retain about Signal users, so the only information we can produce in response to a request like this is the date and time a user registered with Signal and the last date of a user's connectivity to the Signal service", says Open Whisper Systems.
The Signal-maker further says, "notably, things we don't have stored include anything about a user's contacts (such as the contacts themselves, a hash of the contacts, any other derivative contact information), anything about a user's groups (such as how many groups a user is in, which groups a user is in, the membership lists of a user's groups), or any records of who a user has been communicating with".
It is important to mention that the US government is not evil for wanting this data -- it isn't black and white. It is very possible that the subpoena is served with good intentions with a focus on prosecuting a case.
With that said, the government tried to put a gag order on Open Whisper Systems, so the company could not discuss it. That action is arguably worse than the subpoena itself as it limits a company's speech with its own users. Luckily, the company partnered with the ACLU and got the gag overturned -- hence us knowing about it.
Use Tor. Use Signal. https://t.co/VLvBsbVHKs
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 21, 2016
Does this make you more confident in using the Edward Snowden-recommended Signal for secure messaging? Tell me in the comments.
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