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It turns out that macOS client for the popular end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal fails to properly delete disappearing (self-destructing) messages from the recipient's system, leaving the content of your sensitive messages at risk of getting exposed. For those unaware, the disappearing messages in Signal self-destruct after a particular duration set by the sender, leaving no trace of it on the receiver's device or Signal servers. However, security researcher Alec Muffett that the messages that are supposed to be 'disappearing' can still be seen—even if they are deleted from the app. Another security researcher Patrick Wardle reproduced the issue and that macOS makes a copy (partial for long messages) of disappearing messages in a user-readable database of macOS's Notification Center, from where they can be recovered anytime later. If you want to keep an on your incoming messages without having to check your inbox obsessively, macOS desktop notifications (banners and alerts) that appear in the upper-right corner of your screen is a great way to alert you of things you don't want to miss.
Now, sharing incoming disappearing messages with the notification system leads to two privacy issues:. 'Disappearing' messages may remain in the User Interface of macOS Notification Center even after being deleted within the Signal app and can be seen in the notification bar until manually closed by the user.
In the backend, the SQLite database of Notification Center also keeps a copy of truncated messages, which can be accessed with normal user permissions, or by a malicious app installed on the system. Wardle suggests either Signal should not provide notifications service for disappearing messages or should explicitly delete such notifications from the system’s database when it removes the messages from the app UI. Meanwhile, to protect the content of your sensitive messages so that no malicious app, hacker or your wife can recover them, you should consider disabling notifications service until Signal patches this issue.
I have long argued that strong, backdoor-free encryption is an important cybersecurity technology that the government should be embracing, not seeking to regulate or outlaw. My own Senate website, which has used HTTPS by default since 2015, was the first Senate website to do so. With the transition to default HTTPS for all of the other Senate websites and the recent announcement by your office that the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal is approved for Senate staff use, I am happy to see that you too recognize the important defensive cybersecurity role that encryption can play.
Click to expand.Signal by Open Whisper Systems is widely considered by security experts to be the most secure mobile messaging platform on iOS and Android, due to features like end-to-end encryption of text, picture, and video messages, support for private calling, and a lack of separate logins. Members of Congress are for the most part exempt from record-keeping laws, so long as encrypted communications are not 'historically valuable', or do not include committee documents. However, workers of the federal government and those who work directly with the president are governed by federal and presidential record-keeping laws. Indeed, communications over encrypted apps may, which requires staff to keep records of those conversations. In January, reported that political aides close to the president had been using Signal, but the White House declined to comment on whether the Trump administration has set up data retention policies for its encrypted messaging use. Last year, Apple was embroiled in a public dispute with the FBI over a request to create a backdoor into iPhone software so that it could unlock the phone of the San Bernardino shooter. Apple with the request, claiming that the code would lead to weaker smartphone encryption and inevitably get into the wrong hands.
![Signal app for desktop Signal app for desktop](http://cdn.osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/signal-mac.jpg)
Eventually the FBI backed down in its request and resorted to third-party hacking tools, but throughout the case, Apple CEO Tim Cook remained adamant on the company's continuing stance for user privacy, calling the FBI's request for entering an iPhone '. Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Article Link. Click to expand.The rough rule of thumb I've heard to estimate downloads is multiple the number of reviews by 100 (paid apps operate a bit differently but this is a free app). That would give 350,000 on iOS. I think that's still low as I remember reading something late last year stating that Signal had been downloaded nearly a million time after the election alone (I think that included Android as well though). Those aren't Facebook/WhatsApp numbers but I think that fits the definition of popular; Facebook owned apps are ubiquitous, it's playing on another level.
In any case, Signal, Telegram, Silent Circle, etc. Market themselves firstly as a method of encrypted communication. I think that's a different market than WhatsApp that markets firstly as a chat platform but then added strong encryption. Within the first sub-genre Signal and Telegram are far and away the leaders.