We should use encrypted messaging apps, according to federal security organizations. RCS is insufficient.
According to FBI and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency authorities, Americans’ messaging apps are at risk as a significant cyberattack develops. Since China has hacked telecom corporations including AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies, the officials advise users to use messaging apps that employ end-to-end encryption.
RCS, a system that enables unencrypted communications between iPhone and Android users, is one kind of mobile messaging that might be especially susceptible to the attack.
The US government is looking into the telecom hacking, which officials claim has allowed access to private messages and phone conversations as well as call metadata, according to reports from NBC News and other outlets.
A Senate hearing on the attack, known as Salt Typhoon, is scheduled for Wednesday. How broad the attack has been is still unknown. In order to strengthen security as the Salt Typhoon persists, the agencies have been collaborating with telecom firms.
End-to-end encryption is available in messaging programs including Apple Messages, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram.
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Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the CISA, told NBC, “Our recommendation, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether it’s on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication.” “Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible.”
