Malicious Ads on Google Target Chinese Users with Fake Messaging Apps

Chinese-speaking users have been targeted by malicious Google ads for restricted messaging apps like Telegram as part of an ongoing malvertising campaign. "The threat actor is abusing Google advertiser accounts to create malicious ads and pointing them to pages where unsuspecting users will download Remote Administration Trojan (RATs) instead," Malwarebytes' Jérôme Segura said in a

WhatsApp's New Secret Code Feature Lets Users Protect Private Chats with Password

Meta-owned WhatsApp has launched a new Secret Code feature to help users protect sensitive conversations with a custom password on the messaging platform. The feature has been described as an "additional way to protect those chats and make them harder to find if someone has access to your phone or you share a phone with someone else." Secret Code builds on another feature

Signal Debunks Zero-Day Vulnerability Reports, Finds No Evidence

Encrypted messaging app Signal has pushed back against "viral reports" of an alleged zero-day flaw in its software, stating it found no evidence to support the claim. "After responsible investigation *we have no evidence that suggests this vulnerability is real* nor has any additional info been shared via our official reporting channels," it said in a series of messages posted in X (formerly

Signal Messenger Introduces PQXDH Quantum-Resistant Encryption

Encrypted messaging app Signal has announced an update to the Signal Protocol to add support for quantum resistance by upgrading the Extended Triple Diffie-Hellman (X3DH) specification to Post-Quantum Extended Diffie-Hellman (PQXDH). "With this upgrade, we are adding a layer of protection against the threat of a quantum computer being built in the future that is powerful enough to break current

Google Messages Getting Cross-Platform End-to-End Encryption with MLS Protocol

Google has announced that it intends to add support for Message Layer Security (MLS) to its Messages service for Android and open source an implementation of the specification. "Most modern consumer messaging platforms (including Google Messages) support end-to-end encryption, but users today are limited to communicating with contacts who use the same platform," Giles Hogben, privacy engineering

Apple Threatens to Pull iMessage and FaceTime from U.K. Amid Surveillance Demands

Apple has warned that it would rather stop offering iMessage and FaceTime services in the U.K. than bowing down to government pressure in response to new proposals that seek to expand digital surveillance powers available to state intelligence agencies. The development, first reported by BBC News, makes the iPhone maker the latest to join the chorus of voices protesting against forthcoming

Encrypted Messaging App Exclu Used by Criminal Groups Cracked by Joint Law Enforcement

A joint law enforcement operation conducted by Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland has cracked yet another encrypted messaging application named Exclu used by organized crime groups. Eurojust, in a press statement, said the February 3 exercise resulted in the arrests of 45 individuals across Belgium and the Netherlands, some of whom include users as well as the administrators and owners of the