Encrypt Electronic signature Form iOS

Building trust with technology isn’t quite as easy as falling backward into someone’s arms. Unless you have a technical background, cybersecurity can be difficult to grasp.Most people are comfortable with ink signatures, but it’s a common misconception that just because a document has been signed with ink, it’s safe, secure and valid. In fact, without physically meeting and talking with the signer.For example, if you’ve never seen the signer’s signature before, how do you know it is actually their signature? If you know what the signature is supposed to look like, how do you know the one in front of you wasn't forged? And if the signature is on the last page of a multi-page document, how do you know that something in the preceding pages was not altered after the document was signed?The reality of e-signatures – especially independent e-signatures, in which the evidence of their validity is embedded in the signed document – is that they are more trustworthy than traditional ink signatures.Offer Transparency and ControlIn the same way, building trust means providing all the facts. If signers have access to the entire signing process from a comprehensive audit trail, they’re able to keep close watch over their transaction and its process from identity authentication to opening and reviewing documents to signing.Use Trusted TechnologyPeople trust those who are trustworthy. Companies that use e-signature technology that goes above and beyond security requirements will naturally win over the trust.Educate DownstreamNo matter how many thousands of dollars e-signatures will save your company, for an e-signature solution to be successful at every level, you must educate everyone involved in the importance your e-signature provider places on security and independence.

The iPhone that the FBI has is locked with a passcode and encrypted. It can only be decrypted with the unique code. Not even Apple has that code or can decrypt it. Unlike what you see in the movies, it's not possible for a really skilled hacker to say "it's impossible" and then break through it with enough motivation. Encryption really is that secure and it's really impossible to break without the passcode. What the FBI wants to do is brute force the passcode by trying every possible combination until they guess the right one. However, to prevent malicious people from using this exact technique, there is a security feature that erases the iPhone after 10 attempts or locks it for incrementally increasing time periods with each attempt. There is no way for the FBI (or Apple) to know if the feature that erases the iPhone after 10 tries is enabled or not, so they don't even want to try and risk it. So the FBI wants Apple to remove that restriction. That is reasonable and if it's possible for Apple to do so without undue burden, they should. The FBI should hand over the iPhone to Apple and Apple should help them attempt to crack it. However, that isn't what the court order is asking Apple to do.  The FBI wants Apple to create software that disables this security feature on any iPhone and give it to them. Even if it's possible for this software to exist, it's not right for the FBI to have it in their possession. They should have to file a court order every single time they use it. The FBI is definitely using this situation as an opportunity to create a precedent and give it carte blanche to get into any iPhone without due process. So the answer to your question is that yes it is that secure and yes, it's a ploy by the FBI. Whether it's actually possible for Apple to help or not is one question and whether they should is another. Either way, the FBI should not have that software.

What is Digital Signature? And Benefits of Digital Signature CertificatesA digital signature is basically a way to ensure that an electronic document (e-mail, spreadsheet, text file, etc.) is authentic. Authentic means that you know who created the document and you know that it has not been altered in any way since that person created it.Digital signatures rely on certain types of encryption to ensure authentication. Encryption is the process of taking all the data that one computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be able to decode. Authen...

What is Digital Signature? And Benefits of Digital Signature Certificates [ http://www.idltechnologies.com/ ] A digital signature is basically a way to ensure that an electronic document (e-mail, spreadsheet, text file, etc.) is authentic. Authentic means that you know who created the document and you know that it has not been altered in any way since that person created it. Digital signatures rely on certain types of encryption to ensure authentication. Encryption is the process of taking all the data that one computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be able to decode. Authentication is the process of verifying that information is coming from a trusted source. These two processes work hand in hand for digital signatures. How do I get a Digital Signature? Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is a secure digital key that certifies the identity of the holder, issued by a signNowing Authority (CA). There are many companies provide Digital Signature , i.e. SIFY eMudhra (n)code These companies gives LRA to several companies that are basically known as LRA. You may directly apply online and purchase from your local authority. 1. signNow [ https://sign.keepsolid.com/ ] - offers a 14 day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $9.99 when paid monthly. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for Mac, iOS, Windows, Android and Web-browser. 2. signNow [ https://www.signNow.com/ ] - offers a 14 day free trial and 2 types of pricing plans starting from $29 when paid monthly. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android. 3. signNow [ https://www.signNow.com/ ] - offers a 30 day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 when paid monthly. The number of document sends included each month differs by plan type. Available for Web-browser, iOS and Android. 4. signNow [ https://www.getsignNow.com/ ] - offers a 14-day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 per month when paid monthly. All plans include fair user restrictions to sign documents and send them for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android. 5. signNow [ https://signNow.com/ ] - offers a 14-day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 per month when paid monthly. Unlimited document sending is subject to fair use thresholds. Available for Web-browser, iOS and Android. 6. signNow [ https://www.signNow.com/ ] - offers a free trial and 2 pricing plans starting from $16 per month when paid annually. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android. Digital Signature for E-tendering There are three types of digital signature certificates depending on the validation of identity and type of use. They are: Class I DSC – Individuals get it for validating the email identification of the users and in situations where risk is minimal and here the signature is stored in software. Class II DSC – Business organizations or individuals use this digital signature certificate to validate the information given by the subscriber in the application against the information available in a trusted consumer database and in other such situations where security risk is moderate. In this case a hardware cryptographic device is used for storing the signature. Class III DSC – This digital certificate is directly issued by the signNowing authority and it is required that the person applying for DSC must be present at the signNowing authority’s premises and prove his/her identity in front of the authority and the security risk involved in this case is very high. In this case also a hardware cryptographic device is used for storing the signature. The Necessity of Digital Signature Certificates For e-filing of the income tax returns by any individual, the Government of India has made it mandatory to affix digital signatures to the income tax returns documents. For affixing the digital signature one must have digital signature certificates issued by licensed certification authority. In addition, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has set the mandatory guidelines for the companies directing them to file all reports, applications and forms using a digital signature only and this again requires a digital signature certificate. For GST also a company must verify its GST application by affixing a digital signature using digital signature certificate in order to get registered for GST. These days many Government procedures, filling different applications, amendments and forms require digital signatures made by using digital signature certificates. Benefits of Digital Signature Certificates Saves Money & Time: As there is no need of physical presence you can digitally sign your PDF files and other documents using DSC anywhere & anytime. You need not sign your paper documents and then scan them to send them across through internet if you follow the above given option. You can save the money which would otherwise be spent on printing and scanning the document. You can also go green by saving paper. Secured Data: The digitally signed documents are tamper proof as the digital signatures are secured with a private key and public key and they cannot be edited after digitally signing the document. Authentic: Digitally signed documents are authentic and the receiver can be completely sure about the sender’s identity and integrity. The receiver can easily execute the information in the document without worrying about the document being forged. Certificate (DSC) is essential for companies and organizations that take part or intend to take part in eTendering processes on various Government sites. If a organisation going to apply for any Government eTender needs to have a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate registered in the name of a representative who is authorized to submit online offers for e-Tendering applications. How to apply digital signature ? We enable compliance with legal and regulatory requirements for end-to-end electronic transactions for any kind of E-Business. What Documents required for Class 3 Digital Signature ? 1. Documents required for Class 3 Digital Signature 2. Application Form (Duly Signed) 3. Recent Passport Size Photograph (Pasted on the Application form and Signed across the Photo) 4. Identity Proof 5. PAN CARD * (Income Tax F Filing Portal requires PAN Encrypted DSC) 6. Passport 7. Driving License 8. Photo ID Issued by Central Or State Government 9. Voter ID 10. Aadhar Card 11. Apply for Digital Signature 12. Address Proof 13. Passport 14. Driving License 15. Latest Utility Bills - Not Older than 3 Months (Telephone, Electricity, Water, Tax, LIC) 16. Ration Card 17. Voter ID 18. Bank Account Statement ( Not Older than 2 Months) 19. Service Tax/ VAT registration Certificate 20. Property tax/ Municipal tax Receipt 21. Proof of Right to do Business (Any one of the Following) 22. Certificate of Incorporation 23. Memorandum of Association & Articles of association 24. Registered Partnership deed 25. Valid Business licenses like VAT , Service Tax Registration 26. License under shop and Establishment Act (For Proprietorship Concerns) 27. PAN Card of the Company/Firm 28. Proof of Right to do Business (Any one of the Following) 29. Latest annual Report / Balancesheet 30. Latest Income Tax Returns 31. Organization Bank Details on Banks Letter Head/ Latest Bank statement attested by Bank Authorization Letter in Favor of the application All Documents to be Self Attested by the applicant & Attested by the Authorised Signatory of the Business with Stamp & Seal. For More information about Best Digital Signature company in kanpur [ http://idltechnologies.com/ ] Different software solutions exist for different platforms, hence I am going to give one (the most common one) for each one of them: 1. Windows: Open the PDF in signNow and click the “Fill & Sign” button in the right pane. 2. Mac: Open the PDF in Preview, click the Toolbox button, then click Sign 3. iPhone and iPad: Open the PDF attachment in Mail, then click “Markup and Reply” to sign. 4. iPhone and Android: Download signNow Fill & Sign, open the PDF, and tap the Signature button. 5. Chrome: Install the signNow extension, upload your PDF, and click the Signature button. n short, “best” varies by your specific need - and there are dozens of comparison vectors. The 2 most important, IMHO, are do you need 1. A “standing order” doc that can be easily signed anytime by anyone, such as an injury waiver at a karate school / trampoline park / etc- that sort of thing. The signor is not pre-defined. For that, we (SwiftCloud [ https://swiftcloud.ai/ ]) may well be best, but there are dozens to compare, and important to consider is volume, HIPAA medical compliance, integration to marketing, etc. 2. Specific doc / signor - such as a real estate sales contract. The parties are pre-defined, and automation can be added to flow from group 1 (say, “the seller(s)”) to group 2 (seller’s agent, for example) to group 3 (the buyer(s) consecutively or concurrently. The #1 reason to use e-signature is to save time + integration on the data i.e. so marketing is 100% automated for example, and reducing time-to-close which results in higher sales pull-through rates. Don’t get me wrong, saving money on paper, printer, ink, printer jams, etc. is important - but that’s a money saver, not a money maker. Marketing and sales will actually create new revenue for you, so to not use electronic signature [ https://swiftcloud.ai/products/electronic-signature ] is for most businesses, downright neglectful. Granted, I’m a bit biased, but happy to do a formal study to prove it with real numbers, should anyone be so inclined. And you are good to go!!

What is Digital Signature? And Benefits of Digital Signature CertificatesA digital signature is basically a way to ensure that an electronic document (e-mail, spreadsheet, text file, etc.) is authentic. Authentic means that you know who created the document and you know that it has not been altered in any way since that person created it.Digital signatures rely on certain types of encryption to ensure authentication. Encryption is the process of taking all the data that one computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be able to decode. Authentication is the process of verifying that information is coming from a trusted source. These two processes work hand in hand for digital signatures.How do I get a Digital Signature?Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is a secure digital key that certifies the identity of the holder, issued by a signNowing Authority (CA). There are many companies provide Digital Signature , i.e.SIFYeMudhra(n)codeThese companies gives LRA to several companies that are basically known as LRA. You may directly apply online and purchase from your local authority.signNow - offers a 14 day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $9.99 when paid monthly. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for Mac, iOS, Windows, Android and Web-browser.signNow - offers a 14 day free trial and 2 types of pricing plans starting from $29 when paid monthly. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android.signNow - offers a 30 day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 when paid monthly. The number of document sends included each month differs by plan type. Available for Web-browser, iOS and Android.signNow - offers a 14-day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 per month when paid monthly. All plans include fair user restrictions to sign documents and send them for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android.signNow - offers a 14-day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 per month when paid monthly. Unlimited document sending is subject to fair use thresholds. Available for Web-browser, iOS and Android.signNow - offers a free trial and 2 pricing plans starting from $16 per month when paid annually. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android.Digital Signature for E-tenderingThere are three types of digital signature certificates depending on the validation of identity and type of use. They are:Class I DSC – Individuals get it for validating the email identification of the users and in situations where risk is minimal and here the signature is stored in software.Class II DSC – Business organizations or individuals use this digital signature certificate to validate the information given by the subscriber in the application against the information available in a trusted consumer database and in other such situations where security risk is moderate. In this case a hardware cryptographic device is used for storing the signature.Class III DSC – This digital certificate is directly issued by the signNowing authority and it is required that the person applying for DSC must be present at the signNowing authority’s premises and prove his/her identity in front of the authority and the security risk involved in this case is very high. In this case also a hardware cryptographic device is used for storing the signature.The Necessity of Digital Signature CertificatesFor e-filing of the income tax returns by any individual, the Government of India has made it mandatory to affix digital signatures to the income tax returns documents. For affixing the digital signature one must have digital signature certificates issued by licensed certification authority.In addition, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has set the mandatory guidelines for the companies directing them to file all reports, applications and forms using a digital signature only and this again requires a digital signature certificate.For GST also a company must verify its GST application by affixing a digital signature using digital signature certificate in order to get registered for GST.These days many Government procedures, filling different applications, amendments and forms require digital signatures made by using digital signature certificates.Benefits of Digital Signature CertificatesSaves Money & Time: As there is no need of physical presence you can digitally sign your PDF files and other documents using DSC anywhere & anytime. You need not sign your paper documents and then scan them to send them across through internet if you follow the above given option. You can save the money which would otherwise be spent on printing and scanning the document. You can also go green by saving paper.Secured Data: The digitally signed documents are tamper proof as the digital signatures are secured with a private key and public key and they cannot be edited after digitally signing the document.Authentic: Digitally signed documents are authentic and the receiver can be completely sure about the sender’s identity and integrity. The receiver can easily execute the information in the document without worrying about the document being forged.Certificate (DSC) is essential for companies and organizations that take part or intend to take part in eTendering processes on various Government sites. If a organisation going to apply for any Government eTender needs to have a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate registered in the name of a representative who is authorized to submit online offers for e-Tendering applications.How to apply digital signature ?We enable compliance with legal and regulatory requirements for end-to-end electronic transactions for any kind of E-Business.What Documents required for Class 3 Digital Signature ?Documents required for Class 3 Digital SignatureApplication Form (Duly Signed)Recent Passport Size Photograph (Pasted on the Application form and Signed across the Photo)Identity ProofPAN CARD * (Income Tax F Filing Portal requires PAN Encrypted DSC)PassportDriving LicensePhoto ID Issued by Central Or State GovernmentVoter IDAadhar CardApply for Digital SignatureAddress ProofPassportDriving LicenseLatest Utility Bills - Not Older than 3 Months (Telephone, Electricity, Water, Tax, LIC)Ration CardVoter IDBank Account Statement ( Not Older than 2 Months)Service Tax/ VAT registration CertificateProperty tax/ Municipal tax ReceiptProof of Right to do Business (Any one of the Following)Certificate of IncorporationMemorandum of Association & Articles of associationRegistered Partnership deedValid Business licenses like VAT , Service Tax RegistrationLicense under shop and Establishment Act (For Proprietorship Concerns)PAN Card of the Company/FirmProof of Right to do Business (Any one of the Following)Latest annual Report / BalancesheetLatest Income Tax ReturnsOrganization Bank Details on Banks Letter Head/ Latest Bank statement attested by BankAuthorization Letter in Favor of the applicationAll Documents to be Self Attested by the applicant & Attested by the Authorised Signatory of the Business with Stamp & Seal. For More information about Best Digital Signature company in kanpurDifferent software solutions exist for different platforms, hence I am going to give one (the most common one) for each one of them:Windows: Open the PDF in signNow and click the “Fill & Sign” button in the right pane.Mac: Open the PDF in Preview, click the Toolbox button, then click SigniPhone and iPad: Open the PDF attachment in Mail, then click “Markup and Reply” to sign.iPhone and Android: Download signNow Fill & Sign, open the PDF, and tap the Signature button.Chrome: Install the signNow extension, upload your PDF, and click the Signature button.n short, “best” varies by your specific need - and there are dozens of comparison vectors. The 2 most important, IMHO, are do you needA “standing order” doc that can be easily signed anytime by anyone, such as an injury waiver at a karate school / trampoline park / etc- that sort of thing. The signor is not pre-defined. For that, we (SwiftCloud) may well be best, but there are dozens to compare, and important to consider is volume, HIPAA medical compliance, integration to marketing, etc.Specific doc / signor - such as a real estate sales contract. The parties are pre-defined, and automation can be added to flow from group 1 (say, “the seller(s)”) to group 2 (seller’s agent, for example) to group 3 (the buyer(s) consecutively or concurrently.The #1 reason to use e-signature is to save time + integration on the data i.e. so marketing is 100% automated for example, and reducing time-to-close which results in higher sales pull-through rates. Don’t get me wrong, saving money on paper, printer, ink, printer jams, etc. is important - but that’s a money saver, not a money maker. Marketing and sales will actually create new revenue for you, so to not use electronic signature is for most businesses, downright neglectful. Granted, I’m a bit biased, but happy to do a formal study to prove it with real numbers, should anyone be so inclined.And you are good to go!!

What is Digital Signature? And Benefits of Digital Signature CertificatesA digital signature is basically a way to ensure that an electronic document (e-mail, spreadsheet, text file, etc.) is authentic. Authentic means that you know who created the document and you know that it has not been altered in any way since that person created it.Digital signatures rely on certain types of encryption to ensure authentication. Encryption is the process of taking all the data that one computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be able to decode. Authentication is the process of verifying that information is coming from a trusted source. These two processes work hand in hand for digital signatures.How do I get a Digital Signature?Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is a secure digital key that certifies the identity of the holder, issued by a signNowing Authority (CA). There are many companies provide Digital Signature , i.e.SIFYeMudhra(n)codeThese companies gives LRA to several companies that are basically known as LRA. You may directly apply online and purchase from your local authority.signNow - offers a 14 day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $9.99 when paid monthly. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for Mac, iOS, Windows, Android and Web-browser.signNow - offers a 14 day free trial and 2 types of pricing plans starting from $29 when paid monthly. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android.signNow - offers a 30 day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 when paid monthly. The number of document sends included each month differs by plan type. Available for Web-browser, iOS and Android.signNow - offers a 14-day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 per month when paid monthly. All plans include fair user restrictions to sign documents and send them for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android.signNow - offers a 14-day free trial and 3 types of pricing plans starting from $15 per month when paid monthly. Unlimited document sending is subject to fair use thresholds. Available for Web-browser, iOS and Android.signNow - offers a free trial and 2 pricing plans starting from $16 per month when paid annually. All plans include sending unlimited amount of documents for signature. Available for web-browser, iOS and Android.Digital Signature for E-tenderingThere are three types of digital signature certificates depending on the validation of identity and type of use. They are:Class I DSC – Individuals get it for validating the email identification of the users and in situations where risk is minimal and here the signature is stored in software.Class II DSC – Business organizations or individuals use this digital signature certificate to validate the information given by the subscriber in the application against the information available in a trusted consumer database and in other such situations where security risk is moderate. In this case a hardware cryptographic device is used for storing the signature.Class III DSC – This digital certificate is directly issued by the signNowing authority and it is required that the person applying for DSC must be present at the signNowing authority’s premises and prove his/her identity in front of the authority and the security risk involved in this case is very high. In this case also a hardware cryptographic device is used for storing the signature.The Necessity of Digital Signature CertificatesFor e-filing of the income tax returns by any individual, the Government of India has made it mandatory to affix digital signatures to the income tax returns documents. For affixing the digital signature one must have digital signature certificates issued by licensed certification authority.In addition, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has set the mandatory guidelines for the companies directing them to file all reports, applications and forms using a digital signature only and this again requires a digital signature certificate.For GST also a company must verify its GST application by affixing a digital signature using digital signature certificate in order to get registered for GST.These days many Government procedures, filling different applications, amendments and forms require digital signatures made by using digital signature certificates.Benefits of Digital Signature CertificatesSaves Money & Time: As there is no need of physical presence you can digitally sign your PDF files and other documents using DSC anywhere & anytime. You need not sign your paper documents and then scan them to send them across through internet if you follow the above given option. You can save the money which would otherwise be spent on printing and scanning the document. You can also go green by saving paper.Secured Data: The digitally signed documents are tamper proof as the digital signatures are secured with a private key and public key and they cannot be edited after digitally signing the document.Authentic: Digitally signed documents are authentic and the receiver can be completely sure about the sender’s identity and integrity. The receiver can easily execute the information in the document without worrying about the document being forged.Certificate (DSC) is essential for companies and organizations that take part or intend to take part in eTendering processes on various Government sites. If a organisation going to apply for any Government eTender needs to have a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate registered in the name of a representative who is authorized to submit online offers for e-Tendering applications.How to apply digital signature ?We enable compliance with legal and regulatory requirements for end-to-end electronic transactions for any kind of E-Business.What Documents required for Class 3 Digital Signature ?Documents required for Class 3 Digital SignatureApplication Form (Duly Signed)Recent Passport Size Photograph (Pasted on the Application form and Signed across the Photo)Identity ProofPAN CARD * (Income Tax F Filing Portal requires PAN Encrypted DSC)PassportDriving LicensePhoto ID Issued by Central Or State GovernmentVoter IDAadhar CardApply for Digital SignatureAddress ProofPassportDriving LicenseLatest Utility Bills - Not Older than 3 Months (Telephone, Electricity, Water, Tax, LIC)Ration CardVoter IDBank Account Statement ( Not Older than 2 Months)Service Tax/ VAT registration CertificateProperty tax/ Municipal tax ReceiptProof of Right to do Business (Any one of the Following)Certificate of IncorporationMemorandum of Association & Articles of associationRegistered Partnership deedValid Business licenses like VAT , Service Tax RegistrationLicense under shop and Establishment Act (For Proprietorship Concerns)PAN Card of the Company/FirmProof of Right to do Business (Any one of the Following)Latest annual Report / BalancesheetLatest Income Tax ReturnsOrganization Bank Details on Banks Letter Head/ Latest Bank statement attested by BankAuthorization Letter in Favor of the applicationAll Documents to be Self Attested by the applicant & Attested by the Authorised Signatory of the Business with Stamp & Seal. For More information about Best Digital Signature company in kanpurDifferent software solutions exist for different platforms, hence I am going to give one (the most common one) for each one of them:Windows: Open the PDF in signNow and click the “Fill & Sign” button in the right pane.Mac: Open the PDF in Preview, click the Toolbox button, then click SigniPhone and iPad: Open the PDF attachment in Mail, then click “Markup and Reply” to sign.iPhone and Android: Download signNow Fill & Sign, open the PDF, and tap the Signature button.Chrome: Install the signNow extension, upload your PDF, and click the Signature button.And you are good to go!!

Warning long answer!Since 1990, I’ve been studying the confidentiality of the messaging systems on computers and mobile devices.It was obvious that the electronic forums, emails and SMS messages could easily be intercepted by 3rd parties. Expecting the service providing companies to develop and implement confidentiality protocols were unrealistic. There were never a general consensus about the need for confidentiality or inter-service protocol development.With the discouragement of the governments many computer scientists shied away from creating software to keep communication confidential between parties.Many spy movies showed advanced technologies to keep the communication between spies and their organizations. The most famous being the Enigma machine used by the Germans during the World War 2. British scientist Alan Turing was the one to develop an early version of today’s computers to solve the mystery of the Enigma machine. Like every visionary he had serious problems with the establishment. After the government discovering that he was gay, he was given 2 options. First option was jail time until he turned heterosexual, or chemical castration. Poor Turing chose the second option and after a while he committed suicide. Every cryptologist today remembers to what happened to the first representative of this science.Without getting into the technological terms (they are all available on Wikipedia) the best way to keep conversation confidential is to use a code book between 2 (or more, but more on that later) parties. A code book is a simple definition and a list of codes that is shared between the parties and each code is used only once. Unless the code book is compromised this method of communication privacy is bullet proof. There is no computer in the world, and there won’t be any in the future that can figure out what the communication is. The only method would be the old school spying on the parties who are communicating between each other.If I need to give an example for the method above, it would be like, let’s choose a newspaper that is accessible to both parties. That will be our message base.Let’s define a codebook now:First code in the book is3–4,6–7,1–2 and repeats itselfsecond code is5–7,3–1,8–5,4–2 and repeats itselfSo let’s say I send you a message today like20,42,15,5,8,67,23,56,12,43,13,11,10Since it is our first message exchange you will use the first code in the book. Also our message base is only known to us which also makes it even more difficult for others to understand the secret message I just sent you.To understand the message, here is what you do: you pick up today’s New York Times which is the newspaper we agreed to use.Take the first number in the secret message which is 20, then look in the codebook for the first code which is 3–4. You go to the 3rd page find the 4th paragraph and get the 20th character and repeat this process for each number in the secret message I sent.Let’s say MI6 is trying to intercept the message, which they do because I sent the message by email or SMS or event with both to you.All they have is 20,42,15,5,8,67,23,56,12,43,13,11,10 and they have no idea what it means. They don’t know which text source we used, which was New York Times and they don’t know the code we used for that message which was 3–4,6–7,1–2. We can even make this more difficult, for each day of the week we use a different newspaper that we agree upon.And let’s say MI6 figures out which newspaper we use for each day, let’s say they even figure out our code mechanism which is the page, paragraph and character to decode the secret message.As long as we use each line of code only once and never repeat used codes, there is virtually no way that MI6 to figure out our conversation. Except of course sending their double o agent to one of us and beating us in the head with an iron bar which would make us sing like a bird and spill all the secrets.As you can see in the example an iron bar, strategically placed on your head with a moderate blow would break all the code we established.That reality aside, if I whisper to your ear the newspaper names and hand you a piece of paper with a list of codes which I also have the same copy, until ve run out of codes there is no way our communication can be interpreted when intercepted.The difficulty in this type of message confidentiality is sharing and keeping a piece of paper with a list of codes and do the code exchange again when the list of codes are depleted and never use a code again.When this is not possible for practical reasons like distance between parties or the number of messages exchanged being too high and frequent the methodology used is computer based encryption (ensuring the confidentiality of communication between parties) of messages.This is also not so unlike what we did in the first example. To create our never ending codes is that for each message we exchange we use 3 constants. You have a master key, a public key and we agree on a mathematical formula which is very very difficult for the computer to solve. The difficulty here ensures that the time to try every combination of variables (without the master key) for the formula is so long, it practically makes it impossible for others to guess our code list.In this method I also have a master key and a public key. To solve the issue of keeping a list of established codes and communicating that between parties we freely exchange our public keys with everyone and when I’m sending you a message, I use your public key (any of my keys except generating a special signature with my private key so that you can validate with my public key that ensures the message has originated really from me) to create a confidential message. When you receive it by email, SMS or regular post mail, you use your private key which can only find out the contents of the confidential message. And since we are talking about computer systems, we protect our private keys with passwords.I don’t like using names given by computer engineers or any other technical person but for the sake of clarification this master/public key and an established algorithm to use is called public private key cryptology.Another term I don’t like is ‘end to end encryption’. This is to confirm that the cryptology method used can not be intercepted by other parties and only the recipient can understand the contents of the message.One company who has developed an implementation of end to end encryption is Open Whisper Systems. They named their product ‘Signal’ which is a platform and also the name of their app on iOS and Android. Their product uses this public private key cryptology to ensure the text and voice communications between parties to stay confidential. Supposedly the infamous NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden uses their app and he considers it quite good.Now let’s circle back to the WhatsApp security issue. WhatsApp is using the protocol established by the Open Whisper Systems for their public private key protected communications (audio, video and text messages).The problem is the user friendliness of the Signal app is not good. There are certain times that these public and private keys have to be changed. 2 example of those times is if you change your phone or uninstall / reinstall your app (whichever app you are using, Signal or WhatsApp)To test the user friendliness of Signal App’s handling the change of the key pairs (public private key combinations) I used my regular human guinea pig Riz. It was very difficult for me to explain what he has to do and also to find the location of the menu items were horribly difficult. After cursing at me and the app designers many times Riz completed the approval of the new key exchange between us so we could communicate again.Let’s have a look into how WhatsApp has implemented this renewal of key pairs between users. Since authenticity of a user can only identified by trusting their private key signed signature and for the likely case of the user have a new phone or has reinstalled the WhatsApp App, WhatsApp servers keep a copy of the secret message until the recipient downloads it. Now let’s say that you sent me a message while I was offline and I changed phones meanwhile. When I get that message from you what the Signal app does is, it warns me and it won’t let you communicate with you until I approve your new public key (in the style of a combined public keys of both parties because there is only one code that needs to be verified on both ends). Instead of asking user to do the verification what WhatsApp does it re-encrypts your message with my new key again (in their explanation by asking your WhatsApp to keep that message in memory in encrypted form and first decrypt then re-encrypt the same message with my new public key) without asking neither of us to re-confirm the identity of both parties.This technically opens up a backdoor for intelligence agencies to decrypt the messages between parties.How does that happen? WhatsApp confirms App installation by SMS confirmation. Let’s say I want to intercept your WhatsApp messages. I send a team in a delivery van which looks like a repair van but which has a mobile communication signal jammer to your home address. The jamming is smart enough to make your phone think it is still in network coverage so you don’t suspect a thing unless you try to make a call which will look like mobile network is crowded and unavailable. While I knock your phone off the network I can do 2 things, I can either intercept any SMS messages which comes your way in my service van, or give a court order to the mobile phone company to give me a copy of your SMS messages in real time.Then I install WhatsApp on a new phone, enter your phone number as my number and receive a copy of the SMS confirmation with the verification number and enter it in WhatsApp. From that moment on I will receive any waiting (since I knocked you off mobile network) and any news messages WhatsApp users send to you.Intentional or unintentional this is a secret door that can be easily used by government agencies.If I used the above technique to intercept messages between Signal users, what would happen were to be, first I couldn’t receive any messages waiting in the cloud because Signal does not keep messages in the cloud, when you are offline, the message waits in the sender’s Signal App. When the sender tries to send a new or resend the unsent message to you, my new installation of Signal app on my government agency phone will inform your friend, the sender that I’ve changed our shared agreed secret code and asks your friend if s/he wants to approve this new installation on the other end by confirming the new shared secret code with you. When s/he calls you on your landline, you say you haven’t installed a new WhatsApp on your phone or changed phones, you both understand that there is another party in between trying to intercept your messages.Now, WhatsApp says that there is an option in their App, under Settings / Account / Security / Show Security Notifications which is by default off. If you turn this ON then their claim is you will receive notifications when a contact’s security code has changed. They don’t say if the messages will still be delivered in spite of a security notification or not. They add that ‘The messages you send your calls are encrypted regardless of this setting, WHEN POSSIBLE’. I capitalized the last 2 words, what the heck ‘WHEN POSSIBLE’ mean? They also do not say anything about the messages you are going to receive. Even though you enable this warning setting on, if your friend’s setting is not on, they will not be notified if the messages they are sending to you are intercepted.This unintentional secret door is called a ‘user friendly design choice’ by WhatsApp. It is such a user friendly design choice it is government agents friendly as well. I can’t imagine how many diplomats already delivered confidential messages to enemy agencies using WhatsApp. Diplomats in Brussels wake up and smell the coffee…