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Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

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Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#202
post #183
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think part of the issue in examples like this one is that journalists read (legitimate) criticism about e.g. Telegram and simply don't report all the nuance (whether due to an actual agenda or honest misunderstanding). Secret chats are not enabled by default, and most users don't enable them; so yes, messages are generally stored without encryption on the Telegram servers. That's a more neutral way of presenting th…

My understanding was that non-encrypted messages were split across multiple countries/jurisdictions,, making it impractical (not impossible) to snoop.

You mean you only have to be able to hack their servers in one of their multiple sites to look at any user? Cool, so all the snoops can look at every citizen's data.

Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed despite what they say, we only have their word for it but no source code to check whether they accepted these requests from the snoopers in usa.

I thought they open sourced the code?

Yeah, it's open and the encryption is done in the client, so it should be available on Github.

[1] - https://telegram.org/apps

Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#204
post #5

>"It would be naive to think you can run an independent/secure cryptoapp based in the US." This seems to be a shot at WhatsApp and Signal, implying that they have loopholes that allow the FBI to snoop in. I'm not sure how true that is. This might be an attempt to deflect from the fact that Telegram uses a home-baked encryption protocol which might be insecure, while WhatsApp uses the OWS protocol.

Pavel Durov wants everyone to think security is about trust in people. Most companies in that business do the same, because it's easier than building something that doesn't require trust in people. The way Pavel Durov and others like him present "trust" is (ironically) shady corporate structures[1], shell companies, or use of the word "Switzerland." They want people to think like that because they've built businesses…

> Telegram stores the messages you send/receive unencrypted on their servers.

They don't. From the Telegram FAQ:

"Cloud chats are stored encrypted in the Telegram Cloud, and the keys needed to decipher this data are kept in other data centers in different jurisdictions. This way, local intruders or engineers can't access this data, and several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force us to give up anything. Thanks to this structure, we can ensure that no single government or block of like-minded countries can intrude on people's privacy and freedom of expression."[1]

1: http://telegra.ph/Telegram-Security-FAQ

Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you call that a proof? :-)

I did say "there's no hard proof". This was purely an analysis of incentives.

I think "speculation" is a better word here. :-)

Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pavel Durov wants everyone to think security is about trust in people. Most companies in that business do the same, because it's easier than building something that doesn't require trust in people. The way Pavel Durov and others like him present "trust" is (ironically) shady corporate structures[1], shell companies, or use of the word "Switzerland." They want people to think like that because they've built businesses…

> Telegram stores the messages you send/receive unencrypted on their servers. They don't. From the Telegram FAQ: "Cloud chats are stored encrypted in the Telegram Cloud, and the keys needed to decipher this data are kept in other data centers in different jurisdictions. This way, local intruders or engineers can't access this data, and several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force us to give…

They have keys, they have data - the end of story (and security).

Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that how you prove something - by reading comments on HN? Oh, how about all these red flags are raised to scare people to not let them use Telegram which is really secure?

> Is that how you prove something - by reading comments on HN? I enjoy the comments of tpacek and ryanlol

I don't think you answered my question.

Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pavel Durov wants everyone to think security is about trust in people. Most companies in that business do the same, because it's easier than building something that doesn't require trust in people. The way Pavel Durov and others like him present "trust" is (ironically) shady corporate structures[1], shell companies, or use of the word "Switzerland." They want people to think like that because they've built businesses…

> Telegram stores the messages you send/receive unencrypted on their servers. They don't. From the Telegram FAQ: "Cloud chats are stored encrypted in the Telegram Cloud, and the keys needed to decipher this data are kept in other data centers in different jurisdictions. This way, local intruders or engineers can't access this data, and several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force us to give…

Please don't spread disinformation.

Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#209
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read the WP article you cited, titled, "The secret American origins of Telegram, the encrypted messaging app favored by the Islamic State". If Telegram isn't that secure, then why are extremists like IS using it over Signal or WhatsApp? I know Telegram has better features for big groups and much better multi-platform support, so is that the reason? I'm legitimately asking without any snark.

You highly overestimate the people who are in position of power. I am talking about politicians, head of terrorist groups, etc. While saying that top politicians are complete idiots is probably wrong - then again maybe not, I am not sure anymore - the fact that H. Clinton, run the most expensive campaign in history, with backing from all major tech corps AND her staff didn't bother to use encryption at any scale, let…

I think "Borgen" is far more realistic when it comes to politics, the "shadow play" and intricacies

Re: Telegram founder: US intelligence tried to bribe us to weaken encryption

#210
post #82

Option 1: Could be Russian/Telegram propaganda. Option 2: Could be true because seriously, who trusts the FBI/NSA not to violate our privacy anymore? Really not sure what to believe about this one.

A person born in Russia says something and you think it's "russian propaganda". Mccarthy would be proud.

Both the US and Russia are well known in interfering with foreign governments. Hell even America has their own foreign propaganda service "Voice of America" radio.

Also I have no problem with communism, I have problems with corruption and government over-reach/attempts to influence populations.

I'm not new to this. I've worked with people who flood social networks with bullshit to sway public opinion.

Always be skeptical, of both sides. And at this point I don't trust either the NSA or the Russian equivalents.

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