Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#1

Post by david_shaw » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 5:36 PM UTC

Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone
whispersystems.org

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#2

Post by david_shaw » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 5:39 PM UTC

Many people are already familiar with Moxie Marlinspike's WhisperSystems because of their Android apps: RedPhone for encrypted calls, and TextSecure for SMS messages.

The release of Signal is a pretty big deal for iOS users; previously, we had to consider a paid option like Silent Circle, or a larger corporate option like FaceTime Audio (which isn't really the same).

Although I haven't actually used the app yet (it's registering now), the screenshots appear to be a fairly direct port of RedPhone to iOS.

Edit: Yep! And it looks like Signal users can make secure calls to contacts with RedPhone installed, too. Very nice.

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#3

Post by eggbrain » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 5:57 PM UTC

It's great that we have more privacy options for phone calls, texts, etc. But we still need a great "Privacy" phone, right?

There's been attempts to do so recently (Blackphone, PrivacyPhone), but both have suffered from the same fault: a binary blob for the baseband, something that renders all your privacy moot. I've heard the best recommendation is a tablet + USB LTE dongle, to put some space between the two processors ("firewalling" the baseband processor a bit).

Is there a better way than this? Has anyone kinda walked through all the steps neccesary to have a private/"secure" phone?

That being said, congratulations to Whisper Systems -- their work on things like TextSecure and Redphone have been awesome. I hope one day they do a Kickstarter for a whole secure mobile operating system.

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#4

Post by nardi » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 6:01 PM UTC

Um. Isn't encrypted calling on iPhones already provided by FaceTime Audio?

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#5

Post by therealmarv » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 6:05 PM UTC

nardi wrote: post #4

Um. Isn't encrypted calling on iPhones already provided by FaceTime Audio?

I'm sure there is no real end-to-end encryption. And you can only do that between iPhone/Mac users.

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#6

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 6:05 PM UTC

david_shaw wrote: post #2

Many people are already familiar with Moxie Marlinspike's WhisperSystems because of their Android apps: RedPhone for encrypted calls, and TextSecure for SMS messages. The release of Signal is a pretty big deal for iOS users; previously, we had to consider a paid option like Silent Circle, or a larger corporate option like FaceTime Audio (which isn't really the same). Although I haven't actually used the app yet (it's…

[deleted]

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#7

Post by spellboots » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 6:05 PM UTC

nardi wrote: post #4

Um. Isn't encrypted calling on iPhones already provided by FaceTime Audio?

Yes, but it is not secure

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#8

Post by sp332 » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 6:05 PM UTC

eggbrain wrote: post #3

It's great that we have more privacy options for phone calls, texts, etc. But we still need a great "Privacy" phone, right? There's been attempts to do so recently (Blackphone, PrivacyPhone), but both have suffered from the same fault: a binary blob for the baseband, something that renders all your privacy moot. I've heard the best recommendation is a tablet + USB LTE dongle, to put some space between the two process…

It doesn't render all your privacy moot. It's limited to snooping on what you send over the radio, which is the same as what your cell carrier would have access to even with a secure baseband. (Edit: unless the baseband hacks into the software running on the other side of the radio and exfiltrates data right from your SD card... hm...)

What I would like to see is a way to verify that you're connected to a legitimate cell tower and not an eavesdropper.

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#9

Post by sarciszewski » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 6:08 PM UTC

david_shaw wrote: post #2

Many people are already familiar with Moxie Marlinspike's WhisperSystems because of their Android apps: RedPhone for encrypted calls, and TextSecure for SMS messages. The release of Signal is a pretty big deal for iOS users; previously, we had to consider a paid option like Silent Circle, or a larger corporate option like FaceTime Audio (which isn't really the same). Although I haven't actually used the app yet (it's…

Definitely a huge win for Apple consumers. :)

Re: Free, Worldwide, Encrypted Phone Calls for iPhone

#10

Post by nnnnni » Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 6:08 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #6

david_shaw wrote: post #2

Many people are already familiar with Moxie Marlinspike's WhisperSystems because of their Android apps: RedPhone for encrypted calls, and TextSecure for SMS messages. The release of Signal is a pretty big deal for iOS users; previously, we had to consider a paid option like Silent Circle, or a larger corporate option like FaceTime Audio (which isn't really the same). Although I haven't actually used the app yet (it's…

[deleted]

We're going to need verifiable sources for claims like that.