Whether you like it or not, some Google products and services are really prone to hacks and security can be compromised. For one, the Android mobile platform is susceptible to hackers but the tech giant is doing everything to keep the bad geeks away. And for those who use Hangouts, know that the program doesn’t use end-to-end encryption. This is according to a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread where a Google employee was challenged to share how secure Hangouts is.
It was an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) employee who asked the question and now we know it isn’t as secure as we think. To be specific, ACLU principal technologist Christopher Soghoian, threw a question at Richard Salgado, Google’s director for law enforcement and information security. Soghoian asked why Google wasn’t clear about the ability to wiretap Hangouts.
Salgado seemingly dodged the question and just said “there are legal authorities that allow the government to wiretap communications” and also noted that chats in Hangouts were encrypted “in transit”. Our source Motherboard sought Google and a company spokesperson said Hangouts does not use an end-to-end encryption. This means wiretapping is a possible.
Hangouts has the ‘off the record’ feature but it can be useless because of the security issues. Wiretap requests are possible and Google even said the company received seven requests on the first six months of last year. No mention how many were for Hangouts. We just know wiretapping is possible so yeah, scary.
VIA: SlashGear
SOURCE: Motherboard
