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Signal downplays encryption key flaw, fixes it after X drama
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this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2024
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The whole drama seems to be pushing for Electron's safeStorage API, which uses a device's secrets manager. But aren't secrets stored there still accessible when the machine is unlocked anyway? I'm not sure what this change accomplishes other than encryption at rest with the device turned off - which is redundant if you're using full disk encryption.
I don't think they're downplaying it, it just doesn't seem to be this large security concern some people are making it to be.
This is like the third time in the past two months I've seen someone trying to spread FUD around Signal.
Yes but it pushes it to an operating system level and that means everyone wins as the operating system solutions to improve as vulnerabilities are found and resolved.
You also don't need rce access to exfiltrate data. If decrypted keys are held in memory, that mitigates an entire class of vulnerabilities from other applications causing your private chats from leaking.
Full disk encryption is not a solution here. Any application that's already running which can provide read only file system access to an attacker is not going to be affected by your full disk encryption.
that's my point