Telegram's Founder Criticizes Signal amid Ongoing Feud Over Encryption Security
Summary:
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, recently criticized rival encrypted messaging app Signal, describing its privacy measures as a "circus trick". The ongoing feud between Telegram and Signal is well documented, with Durov historically predicting that a backdoor would be discovered in Signal's protocol, a prediction that missed the mark seven years later. Amid this latest sparring, Signal found itself under scrutiny due to controversial comments by its foundation chair, Katherine Maher. Despite the contentious rivalry, Signal continues to stand by their audited open-source code and their commitment to providing a secure communication platform.
In a recent commentary, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, criticized Signal, the encrypted messaging app, referring to its privacy features as a "circus trick." This derogatory remark seems intended to belittle its rival, but given Durov's own controversial history with Signal and questions about Telegram's privacy protection, his comments lose some credibility. Durov has had a public contentious relationship with Signal for several years. As far back as 2017, he made forecasts about finding a security vulnerability in Signal's protocol in five years - a prediction that turned out inaccurate seven years later. Interestingly, Signal's founder, Moxie Marlinspike, later suggested we stop classifying Telegram as an encrypted messaging app. The rivalry between these two services is well known.
The current attack from Durov is viewed as an opportunistic move to tarnish Signal's reputation rather than a genuine concern over security loopholes. In the midst of this feud, Signal has been dealing with scrutiny after comments made by its foundation chair, Katherine Maher, sparked a social media uproar. Critics included influential figures like Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and Vitalik Buterin. Amid this backlash, it was expedient for Durov to shift the public's attention to Signal, further deteriorating its image.
The criticism targeted at Signal has heightened concerns over its privacy capabilities. This sensitivity seems rather strange considering Signal's reputation as one of the world's most esteemed messaging apps. The seeds of doubt perhaps started with comments made by ex-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson on the Lex Fridman Podcast. He questioned Signal's reliability, suggested Telegram wasn't secure and pointed out that WhatsApp, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, can't be trusted.
Carlson stated that the NSA had obtained and leaked his Signal messages pertaining to his attempted interview with Russian President, Vladimir Putin. This sneak preview to the latest controversy suggests that public opinion about Signal was already being manipulated. Notably, Carlson interviewed Pavel Durov in April, and a month later, Durov mentioned that some influential persons had told him their private Signal messages were compromised.
Durov maintains that Telegram offers a profoundly private mode of communication. However, Telegram is not necessarily the ideal alternative to Signal. Unlike Signal, it doesn't provide end-to-end encryption by default and doesn't support end-to-end encrypted group chats. Despite this, Durov continues to vilify Signal to give Telegram an edge. The saga is expected to continue.
Despite all these allegations, Signal remains firm and continues its mission to provide a secure platform for communication. They believe the political stance of its staff, including Maher, should not alter its users' trust in their services. Signal bases its security on a sophisticated, highly audited, open source code, ensuring a relatively trustless environment for users.
Lastly, it's worth mentioning that no messaging service is perfect, and there's always a compromise between user experience and security features. While decentralization offers promising possibilities for privacy-secure communication, it comes with its own set of challenges such as maintaining complex key-states in a volatile network of community nodes. Anyone promising a perfect solution is likely selling an illusion.
Published At
5/26/2024 1:59:26 AM
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