A weird thing happened while I was texting

[W9TR]

Text messaging using SMS is not secure by default end to end. Texts are secure from your phone to the cell tower but after that your ISP logs and stores them and forwards them, often in an insecure manner, to the ISP of the recipient.

It would be interesting to contact your ISP and ask them to provide a written response to the simple question “Are my text messages secure?”

This is one way they nailed Julián Assange.

Some text messaging apps like Apple go through iCloud and don’t touch your ISP’s SMS servers. These are secure if the recipient is also an Apple Text Messaging user. If the other person is on an Android phone the message is not secure because it has to be decrypted and sent as an SMS.

So Serge, I’m guessing one of the ISP’s involved is selling your data.

The best way to combat this is to use a secure messaging program and e-mail that offer true end-to-end encryption where only the recipient and you can read the message.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by W9TR

Text messaging using SMS is not secure by default end to end. Texts are secure from your phone to the cell tower but after that your ISP logs and stores them and forwards them, often in an insecure manner, to the ISP of the recipient.

It would be interesting to contact your ISP and ask them to provide a written response to the simple question “Are my text messages secure?”

This is one way they nailed Julián Assange.

Some text messaging apps like Apple go through iCloud and don’t touch your ISP’s SMS servers. These are secure if the recipient is also an Apple Text Messaging user. If the other person is on an Android phone the message is not secure because it has to be decrypted and sent as an SMS.

So Serge, I’m guessing one of the ISP’s involved is selling your data.

The best way to combat this is to use a secure messaging program and e-mail that offer true end-to-end encryption where only the recipient and you can read the message.

Thanks for the explanation Tom.

I will give this topic some thought. On one hand I really don’t have anything to hide but at the same time it really makes me feel uncomfortable.

[W9TR]

We are all leaking data and its pretty inconvenient not to do so. It is good to know how it all works so you can decide to what extent you want to protect yourself.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by W9TR

We are all leaking data and its pretty inconvenient not to do so. It is good to know how it all works so you can decide to what extent you want to protect yourself.

Absolutely.