MESSAGE
| DATE | 2018-08-23 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] encryption fails to protect Cohen - and why this
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https://www.fastcompany.com/90223739/how-encrypted-communications-apps-failed-to-protect-michael-cohen
Within the detailed federal allegations against former Trump lawyer
Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty yesterday to eight charges including
campaign finance violations, are multiple references to texts sent by
Cohen and even a call made “through an encrypted telephone application.”
Cohen was apparently a fan of encrypted communications apps like
WhatsApp and Signal, but those tools failed to keep his messages and
calls out of sight from investigators. In June, prosecutors said in a
court filing the FBI had obtained 731 pages of messages and call logs
from those apps from Cohen’s phones. Investigators also managed to
reconstruct at least 16 pages of physically shredded documents.
Prosecutors at Cohen hearing yesterday, according to transcript:
Evidence to support campaign finance charges includes “audio
recordings made by Mr. Cohen,” “messages sent over encrypted
applications” and Trump Organization records. pic.twitter.com/0Ciae3ra5d
— Steve Reilly (-at-BySteveReilly) August 22, 2018
Those logs, judging by the charging document, appear to have helped
document at least Cohen’s communications with officials at the National
Enquirer about allegations from porn actress Stormy Daniels—whom Cohen
allegedly paid on behalf of Trump, violating campaign finance law. It’s
unclear if the FBI actually broke through any layers of encryption to
get the data. It’s possible that Cohen, who apparently at times taped
conversations, stored the conversation logs in a less-than-secure way.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, himself found guilty of
eight counts of federal offenses yesterday, also saw his encrypted
WhatsApp and Telegram communications brought up in court over alleged
witness tampering. Those messages appeared to have been found through
Manafort’s Apple iCloud account.
The bottom line: People sending messages through encrypted apps should
probably not hang on to copies of their messages and call logs any
longer than they have to if they really want to keep those messages secret.
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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