Instant messaging services are a part of people’s daily life, and they are not only used for casual communication but are often real business tools; However, there is great concern about the security and privacy of the conversations collected there.
Proof of that strengthening Telegram and Signal after thousands of WhatsApp users migrated as a result of changes in their policies and service outages; However, on some occasions even these alternatives are not sufficient.
The Swiss Army has decided to stop using WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal As a messaging service for their soldiers, they are now mandating the use of an app created in the same country called Threema.
The reason lies precisely in privacy and the fear that some people or organizations may be able to access the conversations of Swiss soldiers without permission.
The Swiss military’s motives are unfounded, because in the case of WhatsApp and Signal, both are subject to the US CLOUD law, which enables the US government to access certain data from conversations even if it is not stored on existing servers. within the American state.
The previous law does not apply to Threema, because the said application is subject to Swiss regulations, so no other authority can request access to the conversations, and with this, the government ensures that no one can read the conversations of its soldiers. control over data exchange.
It should be noted that this is a paid platform, because in the Google Play Store it costs just over $ 4.5 (pay only once) Currently, the app has more than 1 million downloads and 4.5 stars out of 5.
Threema also highlights why there is no need to use an email or phone number, as the app will allocate a unique identifier to access it, which according to the company guarantees “complete anonymity”.
Another advantage is that since it is an open source project, anyone can consult it to determine that there is no data mining programming in any way.
It is important to mention to the users who want to move to the said application, The maximum file size that can be sent is 50MB; However, it does have options for compressing photos and videos.
What to do in the event of a data breach
Laws have helped improve transparency, however, and leaks continue, especially in areas where there are no regulations or discussions about it.
According to ESET, a cybersecurity company, in the United States, the number of breaches in the first three quarters of 2021 alone exceeded those recorded in the whole of 2020. In the UK, nearly two-thirds of medium and large companies admit that they have suffered a nomination within the past year.
In the event of a data leak, although it seems obvious, the first thing recommended is Keep calm and read the notice carefully.
According to ESET, an impulsive reaction can make things worse. Therefore, there is no need to immediately close online accounts or cancel all cards. Instead, you should breathe and focus on understanding what happened.
Read the details of the incident to understand what was stolen and what it means. Also, it is useful to save the notification email in case you need to prove in the future that the leak was not the user’s fault.
Second, you must Make sure the notification is actually legitimateA phishing campaign may attempt to get users’ attention by claiming that some data is involved in a leak to convince them to click on a malicious link or divulge more personal information.
Third, Internet users should Watch out for potential fraud, where those responsible for the breach may try to sell the data obtained in secret forums within the dark web.
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