

Silent Circle's latest app democratizes encryption - jamesbritt
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/02/silent_circle_s_latest_app_democratizes_encryption_governments_won_t_be.single.html

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SwellJoe
I have a rule about encryption...it's gotta be Open Source, or I can't trust
it. I know that can make it difficult to make a business around it (as someone
that has started two Open Source based companies, I know it all too well), but
it just doesn't even cross my mind to trust a closed source app with something
I truly want to be private.

~~~
moxie
I work on RedPhone and TextSecure, two GPLv3 apps for mobile encrypted voice
and SMS: <http://www.whispersystems.org>

~~~
gfosco
Thank you for your continued work in this field!

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ge0rg
_The sender of the file can set it on a timer so that it will automatically
“burn”—deleting it from both devices after a set period of, say, seven
minutes._

This one rings the snake oil alarm bells with me. I wonder if this is due to
sloppy reporter research or actual advertising of the app.

At least they promise to release source code, so maybe it is not that bad
after all...

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StavrosK
It only deletes the file from the apps and server, obviously it can't delete
arbitrary files you store on the phone.

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plg
Democratizing encryption ... But only if you can pay for it? And you can't see
the source? Ummmmm

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archivator
See also: Redphone for Android - <http://www.whispersystems.org/>

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EliRivers
What does it mean to "democratise" encryption? Can people start voting on it
now?

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warfangle
It doesn't democratize encryption unless it and its protocol free (as in
speech).

Wouldn't hurt to be P2P as well.

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gtt
Could some explain how are they going to protect me from mitm (especially on
their own side)? Should I go through usual key exchange procedure? Could app
potentially leak my keys or something?

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CoffeeDregs
Is the innovation here "making encryption easy to use"? Or are there genuine
cryptographic advances within?

~~~
noblethrasher
"Making encryption easy to use" (if they accomplished that) would be advance
in cryptography since it would increase the sum total of data security in the
world.

~~~
thirsteh
It would definitely be an advance in cryptography engineering, yes.

