Zak Doffman has covered security, surveillance and privacy on Forbes since 2018, focusing on the latest updates from the world’s largest tech companies, staying safe on smartphones and social media, and the dangers of AI.
warned iPhone and Android usersWhile a senior FBI official assures that although hackers “have stolen a large amount of records… about where, when and whom individuals were communicating with,” he assured that for most “these stolen records do not include voice or text content.” But the hackers did steal “call and text contents” from “a limited number of individuals.
The key advice is simple. Don’t use basic network text messaging—including RCS, where those texts are not fully encrypted. This rules out Apple’s new RCS option for messaging Androids, albeit when messaging within iMessage or within Google Messages is secure. Trump’s Cabinet And Key Jobs: Billy Long Picked For IRS Chief, Billionaire Jared Isaacman For NASA, Paul Atkins As SEC ChiefWhile messaging generated most of the headlines following the FBI and CISA warnings, it applies to calls as well. Most cellular calls are not fully encrypted and are at risk of interception whether lawful or otherwise. It’s network dependent. Using a platform like WhatsApp or Signal, or FaceTime on iPhones, resolves this.
As Apple explains, “in iOS and iPadOS 18.2 and later, a user may select an app other than the Messages app to send instant messages. The system launches the default messaging app to handle when a user taps an im: link from another app.” It has also told messaging platforms how to “You should change these two settings—calls and messages—as soon as iOS 18.2 is released and working as billed.
The FBI’s warning that substantial metadata was stolen in China’s hack of US networks is critical. That metadata means who you know, who you call, when you call them, and for how long, it’s the same metadata available to Meta and others, and can be provided to law enforcement on lawful request. It is not captured by some platforms, such as Signal, in the same way. That said, unless you’re in an especially sensitive or high-risk job or location, this is a much less serious risk than content.
Fbi China Fbi Text Messaging Trump Trump Encryption Apple Warning Iphone Warning Hacking Warning Ios 18.2 Apple Iphone 16
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