FBI Urges New York iPhone And Android Users Of Security Risk

The FBI has issued a warning to iPhone and Android users across New York State. It involves texting and a huge security risk.

Forbes reports that the FBI and CISA, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, is warning iPhone and Android users that sending standard text messages between the two platforms puts your security at risk. So this means for example if you have an iPhone and you're texting an Android user, you need to watch out.

What Is The Danger Of Texting?

Forbes points out that sending texts from iPhone to iPhone and Android to Android is secure, but messages sent from iOS to Android devices, and vice versa, may lack end-to-end encryption. This would make them vulnerable to hackers.

Smartphone users are instead urged to use encrypted messaging apps like Signal or WhatsApp in order to communicate safely between Android and iPhone devices. The cyber campaign, referred to as Salt Typhoon, stems from Chinese hackers, according to the FBI and the US cyber defense agency CISA."

Independent reports that FBI Director Chris Wray has previously described strong encryption as “an urgent public safety issue.” The latest report from the agency suggest that hackers are still within the networks of major telecom companies like T-Mobile. The hackers have already stolen large tranches of data and phone intercepts.

“Use your encrypted communications where you have it,” said CISA’s Jeff Greene during a press briefing. He emphasised the importance of encryption as a frontline defence against cyber threats, noting that even intercepted data remains unreadable if encrypted."

A suggestion would be to use another messenger app for now to be safe.