E2EE - Encryption : A boon or a bane ?

We have all used private messenger applications that authenticate us using our email, phone number have a PR strategy praising their infamous E2EE algorithm. Let us dive into the encryption algorithms utilized by Network Applications for data transfer.

2 Prime Cryptographic Activities in action:

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Sender Encryption

When Alice intends to send a message to Bob, Alice types the message i.e.., the encryption takes place with a Public Key that is readable to Bob on the device before the transmission.?

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Receiver Decryption

Bob gets a decrypted message after receiving the message where private key that is? only accessible to bob can be used to decrypt it.??

Key Purpose of E2EE :

Absolutely No interception -? It absolutely prevents any other agent than Alice, Bob accessing the message as the private key used for decryption is unique and can be utilized only by the recipient - Bob. Also, the keys are not discoverable by even the service provider, Government agencies included. In order to read the data being exchanged the intruders like let's say hackers must have access to more information like on the users side, recipients side i.e.., know something about Alice, Bob.

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Applications that implement this protocol: WhatsApp, Telegram, Zoom, iMessage

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What do we get ? Why does it matter ?

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1. Data Integrity : No one can tamper our message or take advantage of the message like , Alice says to Bob - Hey bob, I have pizza for you. And it's exactly the same message that bob sees and not anything else like , Hey Bob, I don't like you.

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2. Data Confidentiality : It's just between Alice & Bob, and no mark or jack can read their messages ensuring privacy.

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3. Data Authentication: Alice sends message to bob, only bob can decrypt it and not mark can disguise as Alice and send a text to bob.

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Crisp understanding of E2EE Algorithm in use:

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Most E2EE implementations utilize AES-256, ECC, HMAC for differential operations like encryption, decryption , key exchange etc. AES is a symmetric technique-? fast, efficient -? Advanced Encryption Standard over 256 bits? that is widely used? for encrypting actual data. ECC is an asymmetric technique for public key cryptography used for key exchange? which offers security and faster computations. To ensure integrity of the? data Hash functions of SHA-256 [ Secured Hash Algorithms ] can be used. HMAC is an additional layer of cryptographic function combined with hash functions exclusively for authentication.

What is the real buzz?

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Like (Issac, 2024) says, now all the above algorithms have been carefully devised and have seen decades and decades of hard work by researchers. Telegram Founder, Pavel Durov's story has raised concerns about encryption, privacy and security. As much as this is true, it is also true that, most of the messenger applications have publicly showcased their backend code - so that the developer community can also volunteer and challenge a bug, check for vulnerabilities promising transparency which is not the case with telegram. Telegram has exclusive option to opt in for secret chat which is only enabled with E2EE. Now the quality of service is at stake. Is this going to be a headache for big Tech companies who have vouched so hard for encryption ? Was this just about clarification to the public ?? Was this just about the licensing that drives the legal & commercial aspect of a business with any country or beyond that ?

Unusual activity or Red content detection using Neural Networks

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With Deep learning and AI, we do have several cutting-edge prototypes that frame any content or media in any form? say image, text, audio, video etc. with the usage of Natural Language Processing, Computational Intelligence and Neural Networks, which can be used by any credible resources or regularly to detect and preserve national interests.

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As public while we can still defend private messaging, encryption which is vouched by security protocols, is it okay to consume any content on the internet without any bar ? I think there has to be some reform in the procedures which serves the national and an individual interest. Like we have always learnt in NLP - any word can serve the literal meaning, opposite meaning also the spectrum in between.

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Citing - Issac, M. (2024). Telegram Founder’s Indictment Thrusts Encryption Into the Spotlight. The New York Times Link

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