Some of the most widely used messaging apps in the world, including Google Hangouts, Facebook chat, Yahoo Messenger, and Snapchat, flunked a best-practices security test by advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
The organization evaluated 39 messaging products based on seven criteria it believes such tools should meet in order to ensure the privacy and security of digital communications.
The reviewed products included mobile texting apps, instant messaging clients, voice and video calling software and email services. The results were published Tuesday under the form of a Secure Messaging Scorecard.
The EFF did not perform vulnerability assessments or in-depth technical analyses of the encryption implementations in the reviewed products. Instead it judged them based on principles and features it felt are necessary to protect communications from widespread Internet surveillance by governments, which includes data collection in transit or from online service providers.
When reviewing the products, the EFF asked the following questions:
Six applications, most of them open source, met all of the EFFs requirements: CryptoCat, a Web-based instant messaging application; ChatSecure, an encrypted chat client for iPhone and Android; TextSecure, a text messaging app for Android; RedPhone, an encrypted calling app for Android and Signal, its version for iOS; Silent Text and Silent Phone, the encrypted texting and calling apps by secure communications provider Silent Circle.
One of the few perfect scorers.
There were other apps that came close, failing on just one criteriathe annual code audit or the forward secrecy requirements. These products were Mailvelope, RetroShare, Subrosa, Jitsi, Adium, and Pidgin.
Of the mass-market products, Apples iMessage and FaceTime scored the highest, failing on only two requirementsthe availability of code for independent review and the out-of-band contact identity verification. This means they dont currently provide complete protection against sophisticated, targeted forms of surveillance, the EFF said.
Other widely used communication tools scored much worse, meeting only one or two of the seven requirements. This was the case of Google Hangouts, Facebook chat, Yahoo Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Viber, AIM, BlackBerry Messenger and several others. None of these products offer end-to-end encryption making communications through them susceptible to surveillance on the providers side.
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Top messaging apps flat-out flunk EFF's security review
- Jitsi - Business VoIP Phone Service | OnSIP - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Softonic - Jitsi - Download - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- The Architecture of Open Source Applications: Jitsi - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Jitsi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- FLOSS Weekly 293: Jitsi Meet - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- Jitsi Overview: FLOSS Weekly 293 - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- NetSecDemo Secure FTP over Jitsi - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- Eliyah Moore, Barum Jiu Jitsi Vs Cahel Gonzalez, 5 Star Martial Arts - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- Jitsi (Mac) - Download - Softonic - August 31st, 2014 [August 31st, 2014]
- Using XMPP chat with Jitsi - Video - September 12th, 2014 [September 12th, 2014]
- Jitsi - SIP Softphone - Video - September 12th, 2014 [September 12th, 2014]
- The Luminosity of Free Software Episode 20 - Video - September 13th, 2014 [September 13th, 2014]
- FOSDEM 2014 - Jitsi Videobridge And Webrtc - Video - September 16th, 2014 [September 16th, 2014]
- Just Linux touch screen and Jitsi - Video - September 16th, 2014 [September 16th, 2014]
- Bitcoin and dark wallet could be used by terrorists. So what? - September 24th, 2014 [September 24th, 2014]
- When I say join me in a jitsi meet... - Video - November 7th, 2014 [November 7th, 2014]
- Jitsi Flasms Dogfooding: Using your own imperfect solutions helps improve them, - Video - November 10th, 2014 [November 10th, 2014]
- IETF91 chairs meeting Honolulu Jitsi Meet presentation - Video - November 17th, 2014 [November 17th, 2014]
- IETF91 chairs meeting Honolulu Jitsi Meet questions - Video - November 17th, 2014 [November 17th, 2014]
- jitsi videollamada - Video - December 26th, 2014 [December 26th, 2014]
- Your first OTR text chat with Jitsi - Video - December 31st, 2014 [December 31st, 2014]
- Skype Encrypted Alt. SIP Jitsi Combo - February 7th, 2015 [February 7th, 2015]
- Jitsi Wikipdia - February 7th, 2015 [February 7th, 2015]
- Jitsi for Mac | MacUpdate - Apple Mac OS X Software & Apps ... - February 11th, 2015 [February 11th, 2015]
- Nexi Unified Communication Jitsi Presentazione full - Video - February 19th, 2015 [February 19th, 2015]
- JITSI - Video - April 8th, 2015 [April 8th, 2015]
- Jitsi Configuration and Review - November 21st, 2015 [November 21st, 2015]
- Jitsi: A Multi-Protocol, Cross Platform Compatible Chat, Call ... - November 21st, 2015 [November 21st, 2015]
- Jitsi (Build 3132) - Business VoIP Phone Service | OnSIP - November 21st, 2015 [November 21st, 2015]
- Jitsi | Tiki Suite - March 26th, 2016 [March 26th, 2016]
- Jitsi - - January 28th, 2017 [January 28th, 2017]
- Jitsi for Mac - Download - jitsi.en.softonic.com - February 5th, 2017 [February 5th, 2017]
- Jitsi | Prometheism.net - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- GitHub - jitsi/jitsi-meet: Jitsi Meet - Secure, Simple and ... - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Edward Snowden's New Job: Protecting Reporters From Spies - WIRED - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Snowden helping develop tools to protect journalists and whistleblowers - 'to make the game a little more fair' - Press Gazette - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Jitsi - Download - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Jitsi Meet - Android Apps on Google Play - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Jitsi for Mac OS X Secure instant messaging and VoIP - March 12th, 2017 [March 12th, 2017]
- How to Configure and Set-Up Jitsi - Liberty Under Attack - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Jitsi PediaView.com | Prometheism.net - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- Provisioning | Jitsi | Prometheism.net - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Provisioning | Jitsi - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- FAQ | Jitsi | Prometheism.net - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Tsirang vegetable vendors commit to selling local chillies - Kuensel, Buhutan's National Newspaper - June 27th, 2017 [June 27th, 2017]
- FAQ | Jitsi | Prometheism.net euvolution.com - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- FAQ | Jitsi | Futurist Transhuman News Blog | Prometheism.net - July 4th, 2017 [July 4th, 2017]
- Jitsi Meet (advanced) Projects | Prometheism.net - July 6th, 2017 [July 6th, 2017]
- FAQ | Jitsi | Prometheism.net euvolution.com | Futurist - July 6th, 2017 [July 6th, 2017]
- Jitsi | Futurist Transhuman News Blog - prometheism.net - July 14th, 2017 [July 14th, 2017]
- Gladstone gold does club proud | Gladstone Observer - Gladstone Observer - July 18th, 2017 [July 18th, 2017]
- Jitsi softphone for Windows OnSIP Support - July 26th, 2017 [July 26th, 2017]
- Jitsi for Mac : Free Download : MacUpdate - August 1st, 2017 [August 1st, 2017]
- OpenFire Jitsi as Skype(desktop sharing) and Temviewer ... - February 9th, 2018 [February 9th, 2018]
- Jitsi Download - softpedia.com - March 29th, 2018 [March 29th, 2018]
- Jitsi Meet (advanced) Projects - June 14th, 2018 [June 14th, 2018]
- Jitsi (Build 3132) - OnSIP - November 9th, 2018 [November 9th, 2018]
- Download Jitsi 2.10.5550 - softpedia.com - November 9th, 2018 [November 9th, 2018]
- Jitsi Community Forum - November 9th, 2018 [November 9th, 2018]
- FAQ | Jitsi - November 23rd, 2018 [November 23rd, 2018]
- Jitsi for Windows - Secure Instant Messaging and VoIP - February 12th, 2019 [February 12th, 2019]
- How to Create Your Own Video Conference Server using Jitsi ... - March 6th, 2019 [March 6th, 2019]
- What is Jitsi? - open source video conferencing API's ... - April 9th, 2019 [April 9th, 2019]
- 8x8 Acquires Jitsi Video Communications Technology From ... - April 15th, 2019 [April 15th, 2019]
- Latest users topics - Jitsi Community Forum - developers & users - April 15th, 2019 [April 15th, 2019]
- Jitsi - Should I Remove It? - April 20th, 2019 [April 20th, 2019]
- Appear.in Vs. Jitsi: Subscription WebRTC Faces Off Against Open-Source VC - VC - VC Daily - November 18th, 2019 [November 18th, 2019]
- Philippines eyes fitting end to best SEA Games performance ever - Sports Interactive Network Philippines - December 12th, 2019 [December 12th, 2019]
- Fox Sports 1 Dials Up VCC for The Herd With Colin Cowherd - TV Technology - December 21st, 2019 [December 21st, 2019]
- Fox Sports 1 Utilized Video Call Center to Extend Reach of Shows Like The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Sports Video Group - December 21st, 2019 [December 21st, 2019]
- GoodFirms Discloses the Most Recommended Software of 2020 to Streamline the Business Work Processes - Yahoo Finance - February 23rd, 2020 [February 23rd, 2020]
- How The Coronavirus Is Forcing Italy To Become A Digital Country, At Last - Forbes - March 16th, 2020 [March 16th, 2020]
- Here's how Zoom is fixing all of those security issues - The Union Journal - April 12th, 2020 [April 12th, 2020]
- Five Zoom alternatives to combat social isolation with video chat - The Star Online - April 12th, 2020 [April 12th, 2020]
- Zoom Has Privacy Issues, Here Are Some Alternatives - CoinDesk - April 12th, 2020 [April 12th, 2020]
- This is Jitsi Meet, the open source video calling application that the Government uses to prepare for press conferences - Explica - April 12th, 2020 [April 12th, 2020]
- Zoom security: I've researched problems with video conferencing for years here's what you need to know - The Conversation UK - May 3rd, 2020 [May 3rd, 2020]
- Group video calls of up to 100 participants, with encryption and noise cancellation - Explica - May 3rd, 2020 [May 3rd, 2020]
- The best Skype alternatives for video calls on your smartphone - AndroidPIT - May 3rd, 2020 [May 3rd, 2020]
- Jesse Kline on COVID-19: Keeping government secure and saving taxpayer money with open source - National Post - May 3rd, 2020 [May 3rd, 2020]