The focus of interest was very recently the Signal messaging application after the revelation that it was used to discuss war plans between US government officials.

In late March, the White House confirmed that the application was used in a secret group conversation about the air raids against the Houthi team in Yemen, to which Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was added.

In April, a New York Times report said that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared information on the same military action and a second private team he maintained at Signal, where his wife, brother and lawyer were members.

The creator of Signal Matthew Rosenfeld – who is widely known by the nickname Moxie Marlinspike – recently stated, joking, that among the “important reasons” to become a member of the platform, now included is now included “The opportunity for the US vice president to add to a group conversation to coordinate sensitive military operations.”

However, not everyone is written with the funny side of the issue. The Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, has spoken of “one of the most impressive” leaks of military intelligence in history, calling for at the same time investigation into the matter.

The “security”

But what exactly is Signal – and how safe were (or not) the communications of US officials through the application?

Signal is estimated to have about 40-70 million monthly users, a number that generally makes it “small” compared to WhatsApp and Messenger apps whose users amount to billions.

But where Signal seems to be superior is in the field of security, as it is at its core of end to end (E2ee). It is a security protocol that ensures that only the sender and the prescribed recipients can access messages. Simply put, only the sender and the recipient can read the messages – even Signal itself cannot have access to them.

Other platforms – such as WhatsApp – have E2e encryption, but Signal offers additional security features.

For example, the application uses “open source” software, which means that anyone can check it to make sure there are no “gaps” that hackers could exploit.

Its leaders argue that Signal collects much less information than its users than other platforms, and specifically explain that it does not store files with user names, profile photos or groups involved by users.

There are also no reasons on the altar of revenue increasing, so that these security features are differentiated: Signal is controlled by the Signal Foundation, an American non -profit institution, which is based on donations rather than advertising revenue.

“Very, very unusual”

The “golden model” is what makes signal attractive to cyber security experts and journalists who often use the application.

But even this level of security is considered inadequate for very high level talks on extremely sensitive national security issues.

And this is due to the fact that there is a largely inevitable risk of mobile communication: it is as safe as the person who uses it.

If one gets access to your phone with Signal open – or if you learn your password – they will be able to see your messages.

And no application can prevent anyone from peeking over your shoulder if you use your phone in public.

Data specialist, Caro Robson, who has worked with the US government, said it was “very unusual” high -ranking security officials to communicate through a messaging platform such as Signal.

“It would be usual to use a very secure government system that belongs to the US government itself and using very high levels of encryption,” Robson said.

The US government has historically used a sensitive unit of intelligence (scif – pronounced “skip”) to discuss national security issues. SCIF is an extremely safe indoor space where personal electronic devices are not allowed.

“To access such graded information, you must be in a particular room or building, which is repeatedly scanned for bedbugs or for listening devices,” she said. Robson.

“The whole system is massively encrypted and safe and uses the highest encryption standards of the government itself,” she added. “And when it comes to defense issues.”

It is noted that SCIF has been placed in places such as military bases, even in officials.

Encryption and deletions

An issue related to Signal and has raised concerns about its use by high -ranking government officials concerns the “disappearance” of messages.

As with other messaging applications, Signal enables its users to choose whether they want their messages to be deleted after a certain period of time.

Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg said that some of the messages in the Signal team he had added had disappeared after a week.

This may violate files on file keeping – unless those who use the application promote their messages to an official government account.