5 ms·

Can you elaborate on Signal being supported by the NSA? I’ve never come across anything suggesting this. I’m not sure how Signal was supported financially betw

by alkyl 8y ago

Can you elaborate on Signal being supported by the NSA? I’ve never come across anything suggesting this. I’m not sure how Signal was supported financially between 2015 and 2018 — maybe out of Moxie’s own pocket from Whisper Systems acquisition by Twitter? — but right now its continued development is supported by a $50,000,000 donation[0] from Brian Acton of WhatsApp. [0] https://signal.org/blog/signal-foundation/ https://signal.org/blog/signal-foundation/

BoumTAC 8y ago
I think he refer to this https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-crypto-keepers-levine https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-crypto-keepers-levine
- SlowRobotAhead 8y ago
  What a bizarre article!! The author can’t seem to tell his story without tossing attacks at the NRA and guns - while admitting that there is a point to everyone having the same level of access to things the government might use against you (be it encryption or guns). The author seems to embrace that the unbelievable idea from the media that “Trump won, now you need to encrypt your email”... while that sentiment ignores it was Obama admin that was prosecuting whistleblowers more than anyone before, using the NSA to unmask citizens in political oppsoition, the IRS targeting, and under Clinton pushed the “Internet freedom” policies... I feel like the article was gaslighting itself. And then finally at the bottom, Signal is funded by a company that is associated with a government group. Which is concerning, no doubt. Just what a strange and often seemingly self-arguing article! Maybe I just don’t understand the author at all.
- geofft 8y ago
  That article (accurately) points to Signal's initial funding by the Open Technology Fund, an program that gives grants to internet freedom technologies that line up with US interests and is funded by Radio Free Asia, which is under the State Department. Radio Free Asia was previously CIA-funded, many many years before the creation of the Open Technology Fund. (Also, Radio Free Asia, both in the past and in the present, is working on problems where being secure against large governments is much more useful than having back doors.) It has never been NSA-affiliated (unless you count "being part of the US government" as NSA-affiliated). The relationship between Signal and the State Department is solely one of funding, not of technical interaction, let alone technical endorsement.
  - tptacek 8y ago
    Further: a bunch number of open-source crypto projects received OTF funding. It was the policy of RFA to fund improvements and assessments in secure messaging and privacy technologies in general.
Zhenya 8y ago
Twitter owns signal?? Can you please link some supoort!.
- jkaplowitz 8y ago
  Twitter doesn't own Signal. Twitter bought Moxie Marlinspike's past security company Whisper Systems. Signal is developed by Open Whisper Systems, which Moxie created subsequently (but which I believe uses some freely licensed code created by Whisper Systems). Open Whisper Systems is an independent project, receiving grants and donations through the fiscal sponsorship of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Last year, the Signal Foundation was created and funded by the aforementioned large donation from Brian Acton, which will take over this role once the IRS approves its 501(c)(3) charitable status.
  - Zhenya 8y ago
    Thank you - I truly cannot wait until we can donate to signal.
    - jkaplowitz 8y ago
      Thanks to the fiscal sponsorship arrangement I mentioned with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, you already can: https://freedom.press/crowdfunding/signal/ https://freedom.press/crowdfunding/signal/ That money will, minus whatever portion the Freedom of the Press Foundation keeps to cover its overhead, be spent on Signal. And donations for Signal to this foundation are tax-deductible to the extent 501(c)(3) charitable donations usually are. I have no connection with any of the people, projects, or organizations we've been discussing. But I am the president of another fiscal sponsor 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the free/open source software space, so I'm very familiar with this model.

by alkyl 8y ago

BoumTAC 8y ago

I think he refer to this https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-crypto-keepers-levine https://thebaffler.com/salvos/the-crypto-keepers-levine

SlowRobotAhead 8y ago
What a bizarre article!! The author can’t seem to tell his story without tossing attacks at the NRA and guns - while admitting that there is a point to everyone having the same level of access to things the government might use against you (be it encryption or guns). The author seems to embrace that the unbelievable idea from the media that “Trump won, now you need to encrypt your email”... while that sentiment ignores it was Obama admin that was prosecuting whistleblowers more than anyone before, using the NSA to unmask citizens in political oppsoition, the IRS targeting, and under Clinton pushed the “Internet freedom” policies... I feel like the article was gaslighting itself. And then finally at the bottom, Signal is funded by a company that is associated with a government group. Which is concerning, no doubt. Just what a strange and often seemingly self-arguing article! Maybe I just don’t understand the author at all.
geofft 8y ago
That article (accurately) points to Signal's initial funding by the Open Technology Fund, an program that gives grants to internet freedom technologies that line up with US interests and is funded by Radio Free Asia, which is under the State Department. Radio Free Asia was previously CIA-funded, many many years before the creation of the Open Technology Fund. (Also, Radio Free Asia, both in the past and in the present, is working on problems where being secure against large governments is much more useful than having back doors.) It has never been NSA-affiliated (unless you count "being part of the US government" as NSA-affiliated). The relationship between Signal and the State Department is solely one of funding, not of technical interaction, let alone technical endorsement.
- tptacek 8y ago
  Further: a bunch number of open-source crypto projects received OTF funding. It was the policy of RFA to fund improvements and assessments in secure messaging and privacy technologies in general.

Zhenya 8y ago

Twitter owns signal?? Can you please link some supoort!.

jkaplowitz 8y ago
Twitter doesn't own Signal. Twitter bought Moxie Marlinspike's past security company Whisper Systems. Signal is developed by Open Whisper Systems, which Moxie created subsequently (but which I believe uses some freely licensed code created by Whisper Systems). Open Whisper Systems is an independent project, receiving grants and donations through the fiscal sponsorship of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Last year, the Signal Foundation was created and funded by the aforementioned large donation from Brian Acton, which will take over this role once the IRS approves its 501(c)(3) charitable status.
- Zhenya 8y ago
  Thank you - I truly cannot wait until we can donate to signal.
  - jkaplowitz 8y ago
    Thanks to the fiscal sponsorship arrangement I mentioned with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, you already can: https://freedom.press/crowdfunding/signal/ https://freedom.press/crowdfunding/signal/ That money will, minus whatever portion the Freedom of the Press Foundation keeps to cover its overhead, be spent on Signal. And donations for Signal to this foundation are tax-deductible to the extent 501(c)(3) charitable donations usually are. I have no connection with any of the people, projects, or organizations we've been discussing. But I am the president of another fiscal sponsor 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the free/open source software space, so I'm very familiar with this model.