I think no one has mentioned the base for all the cryptographic functions. A mathematical operation which is simple in one direction but very hard in the the other (backwards). The factorisation of large prime numbers is one example.
I’m satisfied with the answers and insights I got so far. But if you may add I’d be happy to know why factorization of prime numbers is so crucial in cryptography. I heard about this a lot before but don’t know anything. I know quite well about Prime number and theorems about them on math, but not their applications
Calculating primes is fairly straightforward so you calculate a few large prime numbers, and do some math to them.
Now you have a strong key that didn’t require a supercomputer to create but taking that final number and turning it back into those original primes is a much more computationally expensive proposition.
In fact, it’s one that’s not viable with current technology.
For an attacker with enough means, the private keys can always be exfiltrated, and content can be intercepted, but usually there are much simpler solutions for snooping on encrypted content: the devil is in the (implementation) details (this link is an illustration, and by no means an exhaustive list).
Cryptography is always simpler to go around than to break. So never be satisfied with a cryptography only (or protocol only) audit. There are near infinite of ways to neutralize encryption with a single line of code in a client.
The architecture is also essential. Client-Server encryption has entirely different use cases than Client-Client encryption (EE2E).
And finally, Schneier’s law:
Any person can invent a security system so clever that she or he can’t think of how to break it.
If they won’t change to something better like SimpleX then you could use github.com/wrwrabbit/Partisan-SMS . It is a fork of qksms that adds privacy, it will do nothing for video quality or anything else though.
Yeah, qksms’s handling of group messages is really klunky, too.
Deku SMS looks nice, but it doesn’t understand group SNS at all. Neither does Connect You (it also doesn’t have search-by-name for texts, and has trouble linking contacts to texts). Simple SMS is now verboten.
Despite warts, I’m stuck with qksms as well.
Edit Fossify Messages has been released on fdroid. It supports groups, looks nice, and is working for me so far!
github.com/GrapheneOS/PdfViewerI’m using GrapehneOS and the integrated PDF viewer. Can’t say of it works flawlessly on other Android OSes, but you could give it a try!
Simple SMS, obtained from F-Droid, is probably the best universal option until the Fossify project adds the fork to their suite (assuming they do).
If you have the ability to toggle network access for your apps (GrapheneOS, etc.), Google Messages is a very solid SMS app that receives regular updates. I would normally only recommend FOSS apps, but many of those options are limited and/or dangerously outdated for SMS.
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