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Phil Zimmermann's New App Protects Smartphones From Prying Ears

Posted by Soulskill on from the using-your-ears-to-pry-things-is-not-recommended dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Neal Ungerleider notes that cryptography pioneer and Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) creator Phil Zimmermann has launched a new startup that provides industrial-strength encryption for Android and iOS where users will have access to encrypted phone calls, emails, VoIP videoconferencing, SMS, and MMS. Text and multimedia messages are wiped from a phone's registry after a pre-determined amount of time, and communications within the network are allegedly completely secure. An 'off-shore' company with employees from many countries, Silent Circle's target market includes troops serving abroad, foreign businesspeople in countries known for surveillance of electronic communications, government employees, human rights activists, and foreign activists. For encryption tools, which are frequently used by dissidents living under repressive regimes and others with legitimate reasons to avoid government surveillance, the consequences of failed encryption can be deadly. 'Everyone has a solution [for security] inside your building and inside your network, but the big concern of the large multinational companies coming to us is when the employees are coming home from work, they're on their iPhone, Android, or iPad emailing and texting,' says Zimmermann. 'They're in a hotel in the Middle East. They're not using secure email. They're using Gmail to send PDFs.' Another high-profile encryption tool, Cryptocat, was at the center of controversy earlier this year after charges that Cryptocat had far too many structural flaws for safe use in a repressive environment."

5 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. exceptionally interesting and useful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    for those of us who prize our anonymity. I do hope they'll take Bitcoin for the $20/month they charge.

  2. You mean like Burner for iOS? by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Informative

    I doubt it. Our apple overlords will categorise this as 'Undesirable' as it allows their phone users to communicate in ways that they want

    It's funny how so many things people seem to doubt Apple would ever approve, actually get approved. Like for instance a virtualized burner phone, an app that provides you a temporary number lasting a week or as long as you see fit.

    There's already a ton of precedent for Apple to approve something like Silent Circle, and a ton of people like yourself in the dustbin of failed predictions claiming Apple will not accept product X because, well, Apple.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:You mean like Burner for iOS? by Jessified · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And how many seemingly innocuous apps are denied, when we would predict they should be fine?

      Maybe it will be approved...maybe it won't. Nobody can predict it because their rules are so arbitrary. And that, I imagine, is GP's point.

  3. so excited. by ctime · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Neal Ungerleider notes that cryptography pioneer and Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) creator Phil Zimmermann has launched a new startup that provides the illusion of industrial-strength encryption for Android and iOS where users will have access to encrypted phone calls, emails, VoIP videoconferencing, SMS, and MMS.

    There, fixed it for you.

    Does anyone really think any application that is layered on top of IOS is free from interception? Everything is an API, all hidden away, and as much as I love Apple, there is no way in hell I would trust any application running on that device to be free from covert interception(keyboard, voice, you name it). I'm not saying that app doesn't encrypt and do all the right things when transmitting over a network, but I'm going to assume everything is compromised locally on the phone.

    And not to be a tin foil hatter, but really, who pays for this stuff and paid these guys salaries in the past anyways (hint, it was your famous uncle).

  4. You betray yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "There's already a ton of precedent for Apple to approve something like"

    "ton of precedent"
    and
    "something like"

    Really give away your lack of confidence in your own argument. Let me state something so you can see the difference.

    "The application WILL be approved for sale on Android, that is inevitable as day follows night."

    There, and that's why Apple will ultimately fail. Because even the fanboys don't have confidence in Apple making the decision they think is right.