Two of the principles that libraries and librarians believe in
adamantly is the freedom or information and the protection of privacy.
Unfortunately, privacy has become a scare commodity in our digital
world. Recently it has been discovered that the NSA, CIA, and Great
Britain's equivalent agencies have been putting lines of code into the
basic programming of hard drives in foreign and the SIM cards for
smartphones. This video discusses the recent discoveries: http://publish.dvlabs.com/democracynow/ipod/wx2015-0220_soghoian.mp4
Although
these intelligence agencies are tracking and recording calls and texts;
there are ways to get around this. There are apps that allow you to
send instant messages and make phone calls using your data and those
messages and calls are encrypted, which means your conversations are
protected with code that puts a digital lock on them.
iMessage / FaceTime
(Free) iOS only. This is a built in feature on iPhones and is available
on Apple computers. The messages pass through Apple's servers and they
encrypt the data so no one except the addressed parties can read the
message. Unfortunately both parties must have an Apple product for
iMessage to work.
Signal
(Free) iOS only. Produced by Open Whisper Systems this app allows for
phone calls and send text messages that are clear, fast, and safe. They
are protected with end-to-end encryption and compatible with RedPhone
and TextSecure which are apps that do the same thing in Android. It has
nice archiving and organization features. The app uses Wi-Fi so that it
does not use up your data and you can make free international calls.
Unfortunately the person you are trying to call or text needs to have
Signal, RedPhone, or TextSecure in order to communicate.
RedPhone
(Free) Android only. Created by the makers of Signal, this app is the
Android version. It has all the same features: archiving, encryption,
international calling, organization, and uses Wi-Fi. It also requires
each user to have RedPhone, TextSecure, or Signal to communicate.
TextSecure
(Free) Android only. This app started with a different development
group but is now a part of Open Whisper Systems. Like the other apps it
uses open source software that is encrypted. Fast, safe, and secure is
the mantra and the app delivers by using end-to-end encryption. It
allows group chats and archiving. It has a nice feature that will delete
everything the user has done on the app basically cleaning itself out
so there is nothing left to see. It has a few problems with group texts
and it has ads which have been complaints from some users.
Silent Circle ($12.95 - $39.95) iOS, Android, and Windows desktop. The apps go by the name: Silent Phone, Silent Text, and Silent Contacts.
The app allows for encrypted phone calls and secure VOIP when connected
to Wi-Fi. It also provides secure video calling and it allows you to
contact non-users but that provides one-sided encryption, which some
might say is sort of useless. The pricing is based on the number of
calling minutes and text messages. This family of apps has a high
standard for its encryption and has been recognized multiple times by
the Electronic Frontier Foundation for its services providing private
secure communication. Silent Circle has also created a privacy minded
smartphone called Blackphone that has a special version of Android and
proprietary software that makes it secure with no back doors, SIM card
vulnerabilities, and other built-in privacy apps.
Wickr (Free)
iOS and Android, and Windows desktop. Remember in the TV show / movies
Mission Impossible the message would self destruct, well Wickr is very
similar. It automatically deletes all messages after a period of time.
The app collects no user data, keeps no metadata, and has no
vulnerabilities. The founder of the app has a $100,000 prize for anyone
"that could find a vulnerability in its app that could critically
jeopardize the confidentiality or integrity of its users' data". One of
the standout things is that it marries security with features and a nice
platform.
There is another secure texting app for Android called Surespot but it had mixed reviews. There is a secure calling / texting app called TrustCall but it is $45 for a chip or $119 for a membership which made it's target audience really small.
There
are a lot of popular instant messaging apps such as SnapChat, Kik, and
What'sApp but they aren't secure and some that are encrypted have
vulnerabilities. Users who ask about them or use them should know that
whatever they send is not very private and can intercepted with varying
degrees of difficulty.
In Other News:
An web-based app has been developed to treat tinnitus:
OverDrive is being purchased by a Japanese company:
There are about 1200 Android apps vulnerable to the FREAK attack:
