Below is an excerpt from an article featuring NULab Faculty Christo Wilson, discussing the adoption of end-to-end encryption methods.
“After revealing that it was the target of a sweeping hacking campaign, the federal government issued a public service announcement this week urging the public to use “end-to-end encryption” in order to better secure its digital communications.
The hack, which the FBI says was perpetrated by the Chinese government, compromised the FBI, AT&T and Verizon primarily, but also both 2024 presidential campaigns and other high-profile targets, including prominent politicians.
U.S. officials describe the hack, dubbed Salt Typhoon, as one of the largest of its technology infrastructure in the nation’s history.
So, what is end-to-end encryption, and how can consumers and technology users protect themselves in the wake of this massive breach?
Most people today engage in some form of digital communication, whether that’s iMessage, Google Messages, WhatsApp or SMS. Some of those methods of communication already use end-to-end encryption (iMessage and WhatsApp), while others do not.
Quite simply, end-to-end encryption means that only the end users in a digital communication can “decrypt” — that is, read and understand — the contents of a message or communication, says Christo Wilson, a professor of computer science at Northeastern University. It is facilitated by some form of technology, usually an app that can be downloaded onto a device.
Message-based apps such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram are designed around end-to-end encryption. But most of our day-to-day communications are not end-to-end encrypted because they are handled by third parties, Wilson says.”
You can read the full article on Northeastern Global News here: “The federal government wants you to adopt ‘end-to-end encryption’ methods. Here’s why you should adopt them.”
