2 months ago
The pursuing is simply a impermanent station by Kadan Stadelmann, CTO of Komodo Blockchain.
Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, was arrested this week aft a four-day interrogation related–publicly astatine least–to the beingness of amerciable enactment connected his app, including kid pornography.
The ensuing media frenzy painted Telegram arsenic an astir esoteric, privacy-centered app, which is not true. The sum has fixed the satellite a mendacious content of what Telegram is and however it works.
The confusion, and a deficiency of answers, raises much questions since Durov’s arrest.
Could determination beryllium much to this communicative than a modular transgression probe arsenic French President Emanuel Macron assures.
Telegram Not What It’s Reported To Be
Telegram indispensable person large nationalist relations due to the fact that they person been plastered each implicit the quality arsenic an “encrypted messaging app.” The problem? The app does not connection end-to-end encryption by default. Instead, it indispensable beryllium manually activated done the “Secret Chats” diagnostic for each azygous backstage conversation. Further, encryption is lone disposable for one-on-one conversations, not for radical chats.
Telegram hides its encryption down respective clicks, a hidden menu, and yet a “Confirm” pop-up that asks the idiosyncratic if they really, truly truly, genuinely privation to alteration Telegram’s encryption. Moreover, successful bid to encrypt the conversation, the different enactment indispensable beryllium online erstwhile you activate Telegram’s encryption, which is based connected proprietary codification that raises reddish flags with auditors. Such a process apt deters would-be encryptors. Industry-standard encryption would necessitate simply opening up a caller chat window.
“…[T]he immense bulk of one-on-one Telegram conversations — and virtually each azygous radical chat — are astir apt disposable connected Telegram’s servers, which tin spot and grounds the contented of each messages sent betwixt users,” writes cryptographer Mathew Green. “…Telegram knows its encryption is hard to crook on, and they proceed to beforehand their merchandise arsenic a unafraid messenger.”
Rather than amended Telegram’s end-to-end encryption offering, Durov takes shots astatine rival Signal, claiming it has ties to the US government.
“Indeed, it nary longer feels amusing to spot the Telegram enactment impulse radical distant from default-encrypted messengers, portion refusing to instrumentality indispensable features that would wide encrypt their ain users’ messages,” writes Green. “In fact, it’s starting to consciousness a spot malicious.”
Telegram does not lone autumn abbreviated of modern encryption standards. The content that Telegram does not comply with authorization demands is erroneous, arsenic well. Spiegel Online reported successful 2022 that Telegram provided the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) with entree to users’ idiosyncratic information successful cases of kid maltreatment and terrorism, portion the app denied having done so.
Furthermore, Telegram blocked 64 channels whose contented the authorities viewed arsenic “extremist” aft threats from German interior minister, Nancy Faeser, to artifact the Telegram messenger successful Germany.
In October 2023, Telegram restricted access to channels associated with oregon operated by Hamas aft scrutiny successful the aftermath of the October 7 attacks connected Israel.
In short, Telegram hides its encryption capabilities, portion it hides behind a estimation of extremist privacy. At slightest successful the past, it has answered authorities’ requests. Has that argumentation changed oregon does it lone reply definite governments?
Russia Cozies Up To Telegram, West Sees Opportunity
At slightest 1 authorities is comfy with Telegram. After 2 years and a nonaccomplishment to halt the app’s usage wrong its borders, Russia lifted its prohibition connected Telegram successful 2018. Communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said the prohibition was lifted due to the fact that Durov was prepared to cooperate successful combating coercion and extremism connected Telegram.
Today Telegram is trusted enough by the Russian authorities to be used by the Russian subject for battlefield communications. Russia is apt fearful that Durov could hold to enactment with the French and NATO successful speech for his freedom, compromising Russia’s battlefield operations.
This past week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed this fear, alleging that “Durov was intelligibly taken distant connected someone’s proposal and is being threatened with unspeakable punishment, seemingly hoping to someway summation entree to encryption codes.”
Has Durov genuinely been caught up arsenic a political pawn successful a geopolitical game? He advertises his app arsenic encrypted and idealistic each portion providing subpar encryption standards and secretly moving with governments down the scenes akin to different Big Tech apps–at slightest up until October 2023, that is.
The main question astatine this point, it would seem, is which authorities does Telegram present serve?
The station Telegram mightiness beryllium an unencrypted treasure trove of information and Pavel Durov mightiness conscionable beryllium a geopolitical pawn appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.
English (US) 