What is Signal, the messaging app Trump team used to share war plans?
The best officials of the Trump administration used the messaging app signal to share war plans and erroneously included a journalist in the encrypted chat, pushing calls by democratic legislators for a congress investigation on the violation of safety.
According to the US law, it can be an mistreat crime, abuse or abuse classified information, although it is not clear whether these provisions may have been violated in this case.
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor -in -chief of the Atlantic, he said in a Monday report The National Security Councilor Mike Waltz has accidentally added him on March 13 to a group of chat encrypted on the messaging app of Signal who coordinates the US action against the Houthi group Houthi of Yemen for his attacks on the shipment of the Red Sea.
Democrats – and some of Trump’s Republican companions – He asked for an investigation into what appeared to be a great violation of safety. The classified and sensitive information should not be shared on apps for commercial cell phones and unknown numbers – such as those of Goldberg – should not be included.
Below are some of the main facts on the signal:
How does the signal work?
Signal is a safe messaging service that uses end-to-end encryption, which means that the service provider cannot access and read private conversations and calls by users on its app, thus guaranteeing its users’ privacy.
Signal’s software is available on platforms, both on smartphones and computers, and allows messages, voice and video calls. A telephone number is needed to register and create an account.
Unlike other messaging apps, Signal does not trace or store users’ data and its code is publicly available, so security experts can verify how it works and ensure that it remains safe.
How sure is it?
The signal is an open source and completely encrypted messaging service that works on centralized servers maintained by Signal Messenger.
The only user data that archives on its servers are the telephone numbers, the date on which a user joined the service and access information.
The contacts, chats and other user communications are instead stored on the user’s phone, with the possibility of setting the option to automatically eliminate conversations after a certain period of time.
The company does not use advertisements or affiliates of affiliates and does not trace user data, as indicated on its website.
Signal also offers users the opportunity to hide their phone number from others and use an additional security number to check the security of their messages, adds.
The signal does not use the encryption of the United States government or that of other governments and is not hosted on government servers.
“All indications indicate the signal as one of the most reliable and safe services for communication,” said the PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. “This is clearly underlined by the use within the United States government”.
Who founded the signal?
Signal was founded in 2012 by the entrepreneur Moxie Marlinspike and his current president is Meredith Whittaker, according to the company’s website.
In February 2018, Marlinspike together with the WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton started the Signal Foundation without profit, which currently supervises the app. Acton provided an initial financing of $ 50 million USA.
Acton left WhatsApp in 2017 due to differences on the use of customer data and targeted advertising.
The signal is not linked to any of the main technological companies and will never be acquired by one, he says on his website.
Who uses the signal?
Amply used by privacy supporters and political activists, Signal has gone from an exotic messaging app used by dissidents to a whispering network for journalists and media, to a messaging tool for agencies and government organizations.
Signal saw an “unprecedented” growth in 2021 after a context contested in terms of the privacy of WhatsApp rivals, while privacy supporters jumped down from WhatsApp on the fears that users should have shared their data with Facebook and Instagram.
Reuters lists the signal as one of the tools that the Tipter can use to share confidential news suggestions with its journalists, observing while “no system is 100 %safe”.
Signal’s Community Forum, an unofficial group, which states that its administration is made up of Signal employees, also lists the European Commission as a user of the instrument.
In 2017, the sergeant of the United States Senate in Arms approved the use of the signal for the Senate staff.
“Although the signal is widely considered how to offer very safe communications for consumers due to its end-to-end encryption and because it collects very few users of users, it is difficult to believe that it is suitable for the exchange of messages relating to national security,” said Ben Wood, CCS Insight analyst, alluding to the violation, alluding to the violation that involves the best assistants who discuss the plans for the military on the Yemenes.
Google and Google Alla Google messages of messages, as well as Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp of Meta, use the Signal protocol, according to the Signal website.
