Industry seeks to bring end-to-end encryption to RCS messaging

The United States has urged its citizens to use messaging that is protected by end-to-end encryption against applications that use rich messaging services (RCS) such as Apple’s, which does not currently have it, although the industry is already working to solve this lack of security.

In early December, several US government security agencies warned of a campaign that had compromised the networks of major telecommunications providers, including Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T.

The attack has been linked to malicious actors affiliated with China and affects users of messaging services, especially those who use SMS and MMS services or their evolution, RCS.

RCS is a messaging protocol that has already been implemented in the native Messages apps from Google and Apple. Enables a form of communication similar to that offered by applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram, with profiles, voice notes and emojis.

However, end-to-end protection, although present in the Google application, is not implemented in the Apple application, which puts communications between users on different operating systems at risk.

In this context, the work to implement this encryption in RCS between different platforms is there. “Work with key industry stakeholders is progressing well and we look forward to updating the market in the coming months,” a spokesperson for GSMA, the global organization of telephone operators, told CNBC.

Until it arrives, the FBI has urged American citizens to use messaging apps that protect communications with end-to-end encryption and to be on the lookout for any signs of suspicious activity with their Internet-connected devices.