Signal Is a Government Op • Hacker News Board

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#11

Post by viraptor » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:43 AM UTC

Majestic121 wrote: post #6

> As you can see from the way Parler was shutdown last week — when our imperial oligarchy wants to cancel an app, it can do so instantly and with a vengeance. I was not under the impression that Parler was shut down by the government, but more by the "cancel crowd". Was it a government operation ? As for the article, it seems the main arguments are that : - Signal was financed by Radio Free Asia (US government propag…

Correct, government did not force Parler to shut down.

> If the crypto was effectively unbreakable, it would not be recommended by big companies like FB, Google, etc...

This claim falls apart given that Google started encrypting traffic on private links after learning of us gov snooping on their traffic. Also, why would Google care about breaking signal traffic at all?

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#12

Post by ixfo » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:43 AM UTC

kowlo wrote: post #3

I don’t know what to believe anymore. Whether it’s true or not, it makes me question what I’m using for conversations. I suppose it doesn’t matter anyway. Is there something I can self-host for just my family? The issue of having them commit to another chat program isn’t a problem.

Matrix.

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#13

Post by floss_silicate » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:43 AM UTC

viraptor wrote: post #4

For an article with "Here are the cold hard facts" I wanted to put [citation needed] on quite a lot of claims. I also feel like mentioning to the author the Internet is also a government op if we go that way.

“The internet is a government op to spy on the populace” does appear to be the synopsis of the authors book, linked at the end of the post.

So I suspect this post is really just an elaborate bit of spam.

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#14

Post by b212 » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:44 AM UTC

I’ve tried Signal multiple times but after Telegram it’s like moving from Facebook to MySpace from 2004. No, thank you. I’m kinda surprised people are not annoyed by Signal or WhatsApp and keep using them, to me they’re simply unbearable.

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#15

Post by bitwize » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:44 AM UTC

Majestic121 wrote: post #6

> As you can see from the way Parler was shutdown last week — when our imperial oligarchy wants to cancel an app, it can do so instantly and with a vengeance. I was not under the impression that Parler was shut down by the government, but more by the "cancel crowd". Was it a government operation ? As for the article, it seems the main arguments are that : - Signal was financed by Radio Free Asia (US government propag…

Parler was shut down by Amazon for hosting hate speech in violation of Amazon's terms of service -- despite repeated attempts by Amazon to address the issue in more amicable fashion.

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#16

Post by the_gipsy » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:44 AM UTC

At the end of the page, after some unsubstantial conspiracy hints, all that's left is:

> I’ve written at length about the deeper history of Signal’s government backers and the way in which crypto fits into America’s imperial machine. In fact, I dedicated two whole chapters of my book to the subject. I won’t reprint it here. But if you want to know the whole story, you can pick up Surveillance Valley at your local bookstore. Or you can check out some of the articles I’ve…

> …This is a preview of a full letter that is only available to subscribers. To support my work and read the rest, sign up and read it here.

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#17

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:45 AM UTC

Majestic121 wrote: post #6

> As you can see from the way Parler was shutdown last week — when our imperial oligarchy wants to cancel an app, it can do so instantly and with a vengeance. I was not under the impression that Parler was shut down by the government, but more by the "cancel crowd". Was it a government operation ? As for the article, it seems the main arguments are that : - Signal was financed by Radio Free Asia (US government propag…

[deleted]

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#18

Post by rapsey » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:46 AM UTC

jcq3 wrote: post #2

Quite convincing... How Signal is perceived from cryptoexperts?

Too positive. From a cryptographical perspective the protocol is solid.

The problem is that if you are actually using signal to transmit sensitive (as in worth a lot of money,peoples lives, state secrets) information you are making a huge mistake.

Sure no one is going to break your communication on the network. But what they are going to do is use a zero day, get into your phone and extract the signal message db and listen in on your mic and keyboard.

Signal has been promoted all over the place but no one mentions this fact, and when someone does it is dismissed.

There are better solutions out there but they cost money.

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#19

Post by herbst » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:46 AM UTC

b212 wrote: post #14

I’ve tried Signal multiple times but after Telegram it’s like moving from Facebook to MySpace from 2004. No, thank you. I’m kinda surprised people are not annoyed by Signal or WhatsApp and keep using them, to me they’re simply unbearable.

Same. Even if telegram has their own issues and prolly not the best encryption. Its an amazing chat client that is not centered in the US or five eyes.

Re: Signal Is a Government Op

#20

Post by Cederfjard » Thu, Apr 08, 2021, 8:46 AM UTC

b212 wrote: post #14

I’ve tried Signal multiple times but after Telegram it’s like moving from Facebook to MySpace from 2004. No, thank you. I’m kinda surprised people are not annoyed by Signal or WhatsApp and keep using them, to me they’re simply unbearable.

I’ve never used Telegram. What am I missing? WhatsApp is simple and works really well for what I’m using it for, keeping in touch with friends and family.