Users of the Signal messaging app got hit by a hacker attack. We analyze what happened and why the attack demonstrates that Signal is reliable.

  • rysiek@szmer.info
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    2 years ago

    My Dog, “hackers hacking a hack”.

    Can we please stop using the word “hacker” when we mean “cybercriminals”, “attackers”, “malicious agents”? We have plenty better terms. Like… “cybercriminals”, “attackers”, “malicious agents”: https://rys.io/en/155.html

    I mean, I get the need for clickbaity titles and all, but surely we can do better.

    • Jones@lemmy.mlOP
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      2 years ago

      First, I did not make the title, I just linked an article.

      Second, I get that you wish people did not use the word “hacker” the way they do, but… isn’t it how natural languages work? Words mean what people them for. I wish “crypto” did not mean “cryptocurrencies”, butibn many contexts it does. That’s life.

      Talking about clickbaits, what about linking to your blog everywhere you can? It’s completely off topic (the link is about Signal, your blog is about how people misuse a word according to you), but nobody complains, because apparently you thought it was relevant, just like the author thought that calling them “hackers” was fine.

      • Lenins2ndCat@lemmy.ml
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        2 years ago

        Complaining about use of the word hacker is the tech nerd’s equivalent of complaining about clips vs magazines. It doesn’t matter and everyone understands it anyway, there is absolutely no reason to be bent out of shape by it except in situations where being specific and clear instead of generalising actually matters.

        Gun nerds deserve being laughed at for getting upset over it and so do tech nerds.

        • Rusty Shackleford@programming.dev
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          9 days ago

          Gun nerds deserve being laughed at for getting upset over it and so do tech nerds.

          People are allowed to ridicule me for nerding out my passion pompously, or any sort of perceived sincerity, for that matter.

          I’ve always held that sincerity alone shouldn’t implicitly justify immunity from ridicule, but the ridicule tends to work better if it’s sincere in its own right.

          What’s better is using it as a handy way to temper my own zealotry.

          Complaining about people complaining does get old fast, however.

  • Arthur Besse@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    so… a bunch of twilio employees had (and still have) exactly the capability that the attackers gained with this phishing attack. As do employees of Signal, Amazon, and various telecom companies, not to mention governments.

    “Secure messenger” and “requires a telephone number” are not compatible concepts.