What is the signal? The messaging application that Trump officials accidentally shared their war plans with a journalist | Science, Climate and Technical News

When the best US officials accidentally added a journalist to group conversations, the security of the messaging application signal was endangered by human error.

But what is the signal – and did Donald Trump’s team broke the rules using the rules?

Read more: ‘Sketch Europe Free Installation’: What was in the conversation

Signal is a safe messaging application with end -to -end encrypted, so the conversations on the platform cannot be accessed except for the people in the conversation. Even the signal itself cannot see what is said.

Although end -to -end encryption is now quite common, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram offer all of them, beyond the signal time and started to offer secure messaging in 2013.

The encryption technology, which is called the Signal Protocol, is now regarded as industry standard.

“It aims to encrypt everything we can do and keep it small. [user data] As much as possible, “according to the Signal Foundation President Meredith Whittaker and developer Joshua Lund.

The customer privacy of the non -profit organization has made it a messaging platform for safe talks.

The signal is also open source, ie users can control what the platform actually does.

In addition, some other encrypted messaging platforms can not deliver information to the law enforcement platforms, because it cannot disrupt its encryption.

“The signal protects all of this with strong encryption, so that the signal cannot deliver such data, even if the signal is threatened or forced.” He said.

This became a sensitive issue for the Ministry of Interior in February after notification. The United Kingdom tried to force Apple to create a rear door to encrypt Apple to end.

However, despite its focus on data confidentiality, Signal is still a commercial practice and is not classified by US authorities.

According to the US media, some officials were allowed to download signals to their phones given by the White House under the rule of Joe Biden, but they were never told to share confidential information.

Messaging applications “access to public information, there is no authority to transmit, process”, Pentagon rules State.

When Trump officials accidentally included Atlantic’s editor in a group conversation It was not immediately clear whether the information about military operation was classified, where Yemen’s Iran -backed Houthis discussed air strikes.

However, such information is usually kept safe to maintain service members and operational security and is usually kept safe.

National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes confirmed the accuracy of the signal group.

“This looks like an authentic message chain and we examine how a number is accidentally added to the chain.”