The following is a guest post by Kadan Stadelmann, CTO of Komodo Blockchain.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested this week after four days of questioning (publicly, at least) related to the presence of illegal activity on the app, including child pornography.
The ensuing media frenzy portrayed Telegram as an arcane, privacy-focused app, which is not true. The reports gave the world a false impression of what Telegram is and how it works.
The confusion and lack of answers has only raised more questions since Durov's arrest.
Is there more to this case than a business-as-usual criminal investigation, as French President Emmanuel Macron has assured us?
Telegram is not as bad as it is reported to be
Telegram has been in the news as an “encrypted messaging app,” so it's probably a PR stunt. The problem? The app doesn't offer end-to-end encryption by default. Instead, it offersSecret Chat” feature is available for all private conversations, and encryption only applies to one-on-one conversations and not group chats.
Telegram encryption is hidden behind a few clicks, hidden menus, and finally a “confirm” popup that asks the user if they really want to enable Telegram encryption. Moreover, to encrypt a conversation, the other person must be online when you enable Telegram encryption. This is based on a proprietary code that would alert auditors. Such a process could thwart would-be encryption users. Industry-standard encryption requires just opening a new chat window.
“…the vast majority of Telegram's one-on-one conversations, and literally all group chats, are presumably visible on Telegram's servers, allowing the content of every message sent between users to be viewed and recorded,” wrote cryptographer Matthew Green. “…Telegram knows that encryption is difficult to enable, and continues to promote its product as a secure messenger.”
Rather than improving Telegram's end-to-end encryption service, Durov is criticizing competitor Signal. Assert It has to do with the US government.
“Indeed, it's no longer amusing to see the Telegram organization urging people to refrain from using the default encrypted messenger while refusing to implement a key feature that would broadly encrypt its own users' messages,” Green wrote. “In fact, it's beginning to feel a bit spiteful.”
Not only does Telegram not meet modern encryption standards, but the impression that Telegram does not comply with the requirements of the authorities is also false. Spiegel Online reports that in 2022 Telegram Provided The app gave the German Federal Criminal Office (BKA) permission to access users' personal data in case of child abuse or terrorism cases, but the app denied doing so.
Additionally, following German Interior Minister Nancy Faser's threat to block the Telegram messenger in Germany, Telegram blocked 64 channels with content the government deemed “extremist.”
Telegram, October 2023 Limited The investigation was launched following the October 7 attacks on Israel, which led to a ban on access to channels linked to or run by Hamas.
So while Telegram hides its encryption capabilities, hide bDespite their reputation for being extremely privacy-friendly, they have at least complied with government requests in the past. Has that policy changed, or are they only responding to certain governments?
Russia approaches Telegram, the West sees opportunity
At least one government is happy with Telegram: Russia, which has failed to block the app's use domestically after two years. Lifted Russia banned Telegram in 2018. Communications regulator Roskomnadzor said the ban was lifted because Durov was willing to cooperate in fighting terrorism and extremism on Telegram.
Today, Telegram Trusted Enough By the Russian government Used by Russian military Russia appears to fear that in exchange for his freedom, Durov will agree to cooperate with France and NATO, which could disrupt Russian battlefield operations.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Confirmed The scare claims that “Durov has apparently been taken in on someone's advice and is being threatened with dire punishment, apparently in the hope of somehow gaining access to the encryption codes.”
Durov is really political Pawns in the Geopolitical GameHe touts his app as encrypted and idealistic, while, like other big tech apps, it offers substandard encryption standards and secretly works with the government behind the scenes — at least until October 2023.
The main question at this point seems to be: which government does Telegram currently serve?
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