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Signal Foundation

signal.org

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Re: Signal Foundation

#31

Post by detaro »

rfreytag wrote: post #24
loeg wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think strong encryption will have an export problem now when it hasn't for decades? Keep in mind that Signal is already open source and the algorithm is already widely distributed. Any restriction on export at this time would be closing the barn doors after the horses have all escaped.

Quora article on issues in US export of products using strong encryption => https://www.quora.com/What-regulatory-issues-have-to-be-cons... I hate these regulations but EAR and ITAR with respect to crypto seem to be concerned with the key length and algorithm. Over a certain strength the software using the encryption seems to be still treated as a munition!? I've heard of people who ignore this getting huge fines. An…

I think the US still requires cryptography products to be registered with the Department of Commerce, but that's about it for non-military products.

Re: Signal Foundation

#32

Post by mattl »

y03a wrote: post #27

Any reason Signal isn't available through F-Droid? It may be unjustified but I'm not a big fan of installing privacy conscious apps through Play. Edit: Wait, haven't installed anything yet, but I read the getting started guide. I have to sign up using a phone number? That throws all expectation of anonymity and thus privacy out the window.

F-Droid wants to compile their own binaries, and Signal/OWS/Moxie want to provide checksums and the like for Signal binaries.

Re: Signal Foundation

#33

Post by rfreytag »

detaro wrote: post #31
rfreytag wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quora article on issues in US export of products using strong encryption => https://www.quora.com/What-regulatory-issues-have-to-be-cons... I hate these regulations but EAR and ITAR with respect to crypto seem to be concerned with the key length and algorithm. Over a certain strength the software using the encryption seems to be still treated as a munition!? I've heard of people who ignore this getting huge fines. An…

I think the US still requires cryptography products to be registered with the Department of Commerce, but that's about it for non-military products.

I've tried reading the regulations (but IANAL) and am almost certain that over a key-length for given algorithms its a munition and an export license or similar is required with regular updates.

And then still there is the issue of the OFAC banned countries list.

I'm hoping Signal's compliance can show other hackers how to also comply without hassle or fear.

Re: Signal Foundation

#34

Post by [deleted] »

gonehome wrote: post #26
cs702 wrote: post #8

This is freakin' awesome: A non-profit foundation with $50 million in the bank dedicated to providing usable encryption to the general public, with no other agenda other than the public good. Go read the blog post by Moxie and Brian Acton (who is joining Signal). Very exciting!

It seems like they have a lot of overlapping goals with Keybase.io. I wonder if they're in contact or work with each other.

[deleted]

Re: Signal Foundation

#35

Post by book_mentioned »

y03a wrote: post #27

Any reason Signal isn't available through F-Droid? It may be unjustified but I'm not a big fan of installing privacy conscious apps through Play. Edit: Wait, haven't installed anything yet, but I read the getting started guide. I have to sign up using a phone number? That throws all expectation of anonymity and thus privacy out the window.

https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/127#issue... (2013)

src: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11672199 (2016)

alternative: https://signal.org/android/apk (2017)

Re: Signal Foundation

#36

Post by gburt »

So, where did the $50 million come from?

That is a significant amount of money for what has been a handful of people, not taking venture capital, now operating as a nonprofit to "secure communications."

Re: Signal Foundation

#37

Post by darkstar999 »

gburt wrote: post #36

So, where did the $50 million come from? That is a significant amount of money for what has been a handful of people, not taking venture capital, now operating as a nonprofit to "secure communications."

The article isn't directly explicit, but

> Today, we are launching the Signal Foundation, an emerging 501(c)(3) nonprofit created and made possible by Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp

Brian Action funded it himself.

Re: Signal Foundation

#39

Post by skrowl »

y03a wrote: post #27

Any reason Signal isn't available through F-Droid? It may be unjustified but I'm not a big fan of installing privacy conscious apps through Play. Edit: Wait, haven't installed anything yet, but I read the getting started guide. I have to sign up using a phone number? That throws all expectation of anonymity and thus privacy out the window.

Telegram is available on F-Droid. It's similar to Signal with more functionality and greater ease of use - https://f-droid.org/packages/org.telegram.messenger/

You need a phone number that can receive texts for the initial setup, but once you're set up people can add you by @username and never need your number. Stuff like https://www.textnow.com/downloads works just fine for the initial text. Once you have a single device set up, it messages your existing devices rather than sending SMS when you try to connect another device.

One of the main people behind Signal actually tried to spread a bunch of FUD about Telegram years ago, saying the crypto was weak, but it's really not. No working POC code was provided to decrypt anything, just FUD.

Protocol details here: https://core.telegram.org/mtproto They just released MTProto2 in the last year.

Re: Signal Foundation

#40

Post by [deleted] »

gonehome wrote: post #26
cs702 wrote: post #8

This is freakin' awesome: A non-profit foundation with $50 million in the bank dedicated to providing usable encryption to the general public, with no other agenda other than the public good. Go read the blog post by Moxie and Brian Acton (who is joining Signal). Very exciting!

It seems like they have a lot of overlapping goals with Keybase.io. I wonder if they're in contact or work with each other.

[deleted]
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