Timing is everything. Just as Apple's adoption of RCS had seemed to signal a return to text messaging versus the unstoppable growth of WhatsApp, then along comes a surprising new hurdle to stop that in its tracks. While messaging Android to Android or iPhone to iPhone is secure, messaging from one to the other is not. Now even the FBI and CISA, the US cyber defense agency, are warning Americans to use responsibly encrypted messaging and phone calls where they can. The backdrop is the Chinese hacking of US networks that is reportedly "ongoing and likely larger in scale than previously understood." Fully encrypted comms is the best defense against this compromise, and Americans are being urged to use that wherever possible.
The network cyberattacks, attributed to Salt Typhoon, a group associated with China's Ministry of Public Security, has generated heightened concern as to the vulnerabilities within critical US communication networks. The reality is different. Without fully end-to-end encrypted messaging and calls, there has always been a potential for content to be intercepted. That's the entire reason the likes of Apple, Google and Meta advise its use, highlighting the fact that even they can't see content.
Drudge Retort Headlines
Mike Johnson Vows to Hold Aid to California Hostage (114 comments)
Trump Defense pick Pete Hegseth Grilled on Women in Combat Comments (69 comments)
Fact-Checking About California Wildfires and Water Policy (35 comments)
Citizens United 15 Years Later (32 comments)
Trump: Create 'External Revenue Service' for Tariff Income (24 comments)
GOP House vote Bans Trans athletes from women’s sports (24 comments)
Trump would have been Convicted if not Elected, DoJ report says (16 comments)
Israel, Hamas Agree in Principle to Ceasefire, Hostage Deal (16 comments)
'I Think Things Are Going to Be Bad, Really Bad' (16 comments)
TIME: How Trump Got Away with It, According to Jack Smith (15 comments)