NSA: Signal And WhatsApp Linked Devices Pose Major Risk

[{"selector":"#anim-f43e84ef-a293-4b44-a049-29402cc86629","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bbdff0bf-52dd-4eb4-9c27-51c7b9951fc6","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.55696%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-30a96f75-b7ed-4175-9cce-6dd9874d0787","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":800,"duration":500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-24bd85fe-5fee-4989-afc1-37028f905172","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-122.3301%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":800,"duration":500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] NSA: Signal And WhatsApp Linked Devices Pose Major Risk Rahul Somvanshi

The National Security Agency (NSA) has issued a critical warning about secure messaging.

[{"selector":"#anim-7c23210f-ed04-40ab-9f92-f32899a9ce3b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7703d88c-7a43-4bc4-af8a-b01b9779a91c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.50632%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2c1e55e6-38cc-489b-af88-a15b2ef51122","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-407ce0c5-1e1d-4a0a-8e57-ada72d6d920a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.02864%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e0af82cc-e316-4abe-b91f-f54809f268ce","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Helar Lukats (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The apps themselves aren't vulnerable—user behavior is the weak link.

[{"selector":"#anim-8e817a84-d929-4433-9b6d-198852fb580f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f000b396-a124-4c19-ba96-6e6aee09ee4b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 249.72502%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-cce7a029-70bf-47af-9602-d4dcd5538a43","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5c172da6-0522-4822-b6f9-4d6796799ce4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -111.1955%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1f92cda8-639e-4298-b070-d0b9a9765842","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Intel Free Press (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photographer Ingo Arndt's macro lens revealed the pungent, acid-spraying colonies and their complex activities.

[{"selector":"#anim-cc072739-8a32-4eac-894a-8cab2e86dd7a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d9fa070c-fe7f-4525-903e-c74e25e0f07b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.58885%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-61d3a038-1ba6-47d1-bc3a-52e94e4ecd4b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6089c30a-e4a1-4d1c-b1c0-271eb186ecbe","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(113.60759%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-25cc7ba1-d855-47aa-896d-b26b639adc3b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Pranav Lal (Pexels)

Russian GRU hackers exploited this against Ukrainian officials, gaining access to their Signal accounts.

[{"selector":"#anim-2aa0c53a-1f01-44ea-b6b0-07c965b84e82","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-cd26f701-f5f8-4af2-9b28-00619dea02cd","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 195.52108%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-79cfc312-aafe-4715-9588-061628541bfe","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f98241c3-0ddd-40a7-b053-eec6f8ffe0e0","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -114.48664%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a01a82b2-99a4-49c2-9bc4-5579ccc438c8","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: World's Direction (CC0 1.0)

Security technologist Bruce Schneier advocates for "defense-dominant" strategies.

[{"selector":"#anim-3db07a94-2036-4282-b9bf-4462c263b7a1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1347575e-a085-4a4a-a901-01cf974e6836","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.02864%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a719bb7c-9c77-4a4a-8c9b-9613bc02eea4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1a2e6919-9f4a-48b1-b6fd-2e23c563411c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.18987%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-839e9713-7437-4ee4-b11e-f492f2a69973","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Alvin Trusty (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

"It's a WhatsApp world at work now," reports the Financial Times, "and that's not always a good thing."

[{"selector":"#anim-882b4383-4015-464d-88fa-234c25a35df4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-30df5cff-26c0-4f34-8e18-eadc3e8847a1","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 249.72502%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1da79ecb-b2d2-4658-90ca-abfed2fa8132","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-14b33865-1df2-4da9-a339-b94133ea919b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -114.48664%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-81a6902d-a6fb-4a52-a4fe-be8b5f3fe4d9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Santeri Viinamäki (CC BY-SA 4.0)

As the NSA bulletin explicitly notes, unclassified and sensitive data shouldn't be shared via third-party apps.

[{"selector":"#anim-2628842e-f014-4092-8241-3e173c26e221","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9fe70fff-8c07-4c97-9e9d-de894aa0e566","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.02864%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2b2bf23c-d6d1-4ea1-b77f-28879257b64b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3de78b4c-1555-4939-82b2-6432e1aa46ec","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.18987%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-736791a5-c99e-4878-9b90-13ea41ba6414","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Ryan Somma (CC BY 2.0)

The lesson is clear: your secure messaging app is only as secure as how you use it.

[{"selector":"#anim-35b60d43-3289-4277-ade5-05218ffcccf1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-976b7339-3790-4bb2-bd53-41c68805921f","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 333.18726%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3965dbeb-3c86-4c2e-a804-e15b1c979586","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-00cd19a6-c1a9-4ce4-8a83-c9217900a3b5","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -114.48664%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e2d4d4a8-ca71-4225-bd62-78fa1d0beb56","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Wonderlane (CC0 1.0)

[{"selector":"#anim-8f1b0350-0a8a-4ecf-a9d8-72926455cde3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-63af0493-87a2-4dc5-ab7a-8895fb842246","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d69ae0bb-5b8c-4197-9bc9-c6f1cadf380a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.50152%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-06f8e7bc-f56b-4d13-96dc-7086d3fdf1c8","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":700,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-38e4b9df-2576-4ebd-9e1e-2e165c221b22","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.2381%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":700,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Algae Darken Greenland Ice, Speeding Up Melting Learn more