Text messages sent from Android phones to iPhones are in danger of being hacked because their encryption methods don't apply to each others' systems, which won't allow users to heed FBI and CISA warnings for Americans to use fully encrypted messages and phone calls when possible.
The agencies warned that Chinese hacking into U.S. networks is "ongoing and likely larger in scale than previously understood," and using fully encrypted communications is the best defense, Forbes reported.
The attacks have been linked to Salt Typhoon, a hacking group linked with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. While there has always been the possibility to intercept non-encrypted messages, advice from Jeff Greene of CISA, the government's cyber security agency, and an unnamed FBI senior official recently suggested that Americans use encrypted apps for all their communications.
However, iMessages and Google Messages are reported to be fully encrypted between users on the platforms.
"Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: encryption is your friend, whether it's on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication," Greene said. "Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible."
An alert was jointly issued by the FBI, CISA, NSA, and other agencies on Tuesday.
End-to-end encryption that would protect cross-platform RCS, a successor to SMS, was highlighted recently in Samsung's announcement on the success of the newer program.
In the statement, Samsung pointed out that the encryption was only secure between Android devices.
Google and GSMA, the mobile standard setter, said encryption will come to RCS, but there has not been a date set.