“Twitter Rolls Out End-to-End Encryption for DMs, But Elon Musk’s Caution is Warranted”

Twitter recently launched its encrypted messaging service, providing select users the ability to communicate more securely. However, Twitter’s new feature is far from the “gold standard” for secure messaging, according to security experts. In fact, the service lacks the primary protections necessary to safeguard messages from hackers and other prying eyes. Here’s what you need to know.

## Encryption Technology and Twitter’s New Feature

Ordinary messages sent through the internet are generally vulnerable to interception, putting messages at risk for others to read. Encryption technology secures messages by encoding them in a way where only the sender and recipient are able to decipher them. This is the essence of what Twitter has launched.

However, Twitter‘s new service may not be the most secure choice for users. It lacks basic encryption protections that security experts have deemed essential in safeguarding confidential messages from hackers and snoops. User messages are currently vulnerable to a “man-in-the-middle” attack that can allow an attacker to intercept messages that are shared back and forth. This is a concern, especially considering that Twitter has the ability to do so.

## Assessing Twitter’s New Encryption Protocol

Twitter’s encryption protocol falls far below the gold standard set by end-to-end encryption services such as Signal and ProtonMail. For the time being, Twitter’s encrypted messages have the potential to be decrypted by others, including the company itself. Twitter’s new messaging service sits somewhere in between better security than just using regular Twitter DMs and less secure than end-to-end encryption services.

Twitter’s new encrypted messaging service is limited in several ways and not only for $11 per month subscribers. Besides being vulnerable to a “man-in-the-middle” attack, encrypted messages on Twitter are limited to text and links. Photos, videos and other attachments are not yet available. Moreover, users will have to choose encryption each time they start a specific conversation; they cannot make encrypted messages a default setting.

## Recommendations

While Twitter’s new encrypted messaging feature is the start of a journey towards better security and privacy, users need to be conscious of the limitations of this new feature. Twitter needs to make major tweaks to their service to even compete with end-to-end encryption services like Signal and ProtonMail. Twitter must address encryption protocols, vulnerability to man-in-the-middle attacks, and privacy for users. Twitter must also provide support for user needs, such as the ability to report abuse and harassment, group messaging, and attachments such as photos and videos.

In conclusion, Twitter’s encrypted messaging service is a small step towards better security and privacy. However, Twitter still has many improvements to make before becoming a reliable security option. Twitter users should be cautious and take appropriate precautionary steps when using Twitter’s encrypted messaging feature.