3w ago

The Guardian and Cambridge University's Department of Computer Science unveil new secure technology to protect sources

www.theguardian.com

The Guardian launches Secure Messaging, a world-first from a media organisation, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge

Academic paper: https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-999.pdf

Open Source @lemmy.ml

Davriellelouna @lemmy.world

3w ago

The Guardian and Cambridge University scientists deploy new open source technology

www.theguardian.com /gnm-press-office/2025/jun/09/the-guardian-launches-secure-messaging-a-world-first-from-a-media-organisation-in-collaboration-with-the-university-of-cambridge

61 comments

Love seeing open source projects from companies that aren't specifically tech firms
I saw the headline and was ready to rage about why they should just use signal instead. Then I read the article and honestly this is a fucking genius use of tech
- I read it and don't understand. Why is this better than Signal? Or the 500 other secure file/messaging protocols?
  Jabber seemed to work perfectly for Snowden...
  
  Because analysing network traffic wouldn't allow an adversary to see what you're sending with Signal, but they could still tell you're sendig a secure message.
  What the Guardian is doing is hiding that secure chat traffic inside the Guardian app, so packet sniffing would only show you're accessing news.
  
  For one, ease of access. Say you’re trying to break a story, who are you going to message with signal? Because you’re going to need to get that contact info somehow right?
  Snowden is permanently stranded in Russia. That’s not exactly a great example of an anonymous source.
  
  Messaging protocols already resemble the frameworks that come out from time to time. And their effectiveness is due to the fact that they require a certain quota of users.
  It's just a secure messaging app with a direct line to Guardian journalists. How to use 911 or special numbers when you're not feeling well.
- Yeah this is insanely good
Similar to other apps, CoverDrop only provides limited protection on smartphones that are fully compromised by malware, e.g., Pegasus, which can record the screen content and user actions.
The tech behind the tool conceals the fact that messaging is taking place at all. It makes the communication indistinguishable from data sent to and from the app by our millions of regular users.
Reminds me of how the Germans in WW1 knew they couldn't trust their diplomatic codes anymore so they just sent the important messages in the normal, innocuous telegraph system and diplomatic pouches. They knew that foreign intelligence would be focused on the bogus secure messages.
- To sum it up even more : this looks like standard end-to-end encryption, but any app user have the same network traffic, completed with fake data if no communication is needed.
If you want to blow the whistle on somebody and wonder if the Guardian is trustworthy I suggest you ask Julian Assange.
Horrible name sadly

61 comments