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The same could happen with Threema. As much as I like and want to trust Threema, but the story could be repeated, even if I think, that it is not used by govern

The same could happen with Threema. As much as I like and want to trust Threema, but the story could be repeated, even if I think, that it is not used by governments or military large-scale. Essentially every closed source crypto application isn't trustworthy. Same is true for operating systems.

bangboombang 7y ago
Exactly my first thought. I like Threema and one of the reasons I was an early adopter is that the founder worked on m0n0wall before, an OSS firewall that I used for a long time, in contrast to it being just some guy I never heard of. It made me accept the closed source nature. Another big factor was that I indeed consider Switzerland to be a more trustworthy/neutral party in general when it comes to global politics, but this obviously doesn't have to apply to every single individual in that country.
- _-___________-_ 7y ago
  Why use Threema when there are alternatives that are not closed-source? You had to begin to use Threema, which presumably carries the same difficulty as beginning to use something which isn't as questionable.
  - mmPzf 7y ago
    A big plus for me was the option of using it without mapping the user account to a phone number, something that e.g. Signal doesn't allow.
  - bangboombang 7y ago
    It was consensus between colleagues/friends. And because you still need to trust open source software as well. I certainly don't have the time to review the code, and the "somebody else will do a thorough code review" fallacy should be well known by know. As said, Threema at least had a name attached to it that I somewhat trust. Telegram for example doesn't exactly tick the "not as questionable" box for me, not least because it isn't entirely open source either, but also because I always find it weird if someone is pouring money into software that is available for free, with no obvious benefit for them in return.
PeterStuer 7y ago
While you are not wrong, it would be naive to assume key Open Source projects are not infiltrated by the CIA.
PappaPatat 7y ago
I take it you name Threema just because it's Swiss like the Crypto AG or is there a specific reason to single them out?
- cryptos 7y ago
  crypto + Switzerland just triggered the thought. Nothing else is special about my example.
jo-m 7y ago
Side note: Threema is a Swiss "GmbH" corporation, meaning that all the owners and the number of their shares are public in the Swiss commercial register [0], and those have to be natural persons. So it would be slightly harder to hide ownership. Those people can still be straw men, though. [0]: https://sz.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=CHE-221.440.104 https://sz.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=C...

bangboombang 7y ago

Exactly my first thought. I like Threema and one of the reasons I was an early adopter is that the founder worked on m0n0wall before, an OSS firewall that I used for a long time, in contrast to it being just some guy I never heard of. It made me accept the closed source nature. Another big factor was that I indeed consider Switzerland to be a more trustworthy/neutral party in general when it comes to global politics, but this obviously doesn't have to apply to every single individual in that country.

_-___________-_ 7y ago
Why use Threema when there are alternatives that are not closed-source? You had to begin to use Threema, which presumably carries the same difficulty as beginning to use something which isn't as questionable.
- mmPzf 7y ago
  A big plus for me was the option of using it without mapping the user account to a phone number, something that e.g. Signal doesn't allow.
- bangboombang 7y ago
  It was consensus between colleagues/friends. And because you still need to trust open source software as well. I certainly don't have the time to review the code, and the "somebody else will do a thorough code review" fallacy should be well known by know. As said, Threema at least had a name attached to it that I somewhat trust. Telegram for example doesn't exactly tick the "not as questionable" box for me, not least because it isn't entirely open source either, but also because I always find it weird if someone is pouring money into software that is available for free, with no obvious benefit for them in return.

PeterStuer 7y ago

While you are not wrong, it would be naive to assume key Open Source projects are not infiltrated by the CIA.

PappaPatat 7y ago

I take it you name Threema just because it's Swiss like the Crypto AG or is there a specific reason to single them out?

cryptos 7y ago
crypto + Switzerland just triggered the thought. Nothing else is special about my example.

jo-m 7y ago

Side note: Threema is a Swiss "GmbH" corporation, meaning that all the owners and the number of their shares are public in the Swiss commercial register [0], and those have to be natural persons. So it would be slightly harder to hide ownership. Those people can still be straw men, though. [0]: https://sz.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=CHE-221.440.104 https://sz.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=C...