The FBI and the U.S. Cyber Defense Agency have issued a serious warning to people who still rely on traditional text messaging (SMS). New global regulations—especially in Europe—have further highlighted the risks of non-encrypted communication, making secure messaging apps more important than ever.
SMS Puts Your Privacy at Risk
According to cybersecurity experts, SMS is one of the least secure forms of digital communication. It is not end-to-end encrypted, which means your messages can potentially be:
- Intercepted
- Scanned
- Stored by carriers
- Accessed by hackers
This risk increases as new European laws now differentiate between encrypted and non-encrypted platforms. Under these rules, companies may be required to scan users’ messages to detect illegal content — raising fears of mass surveillance and deep privacy violations.
Organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) warn that such scanning could expose millions of private conversations, making SMS a dangerous choice for personal communication.
CISA Recommends WhatsApp and Signal
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has strongly advised users to stop relying on phone-based SMS apps and switch to secure messaging services.
CISA recommends:
- Signal
Both apps offer complete end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only the sender and receiver can read the message — not governments, not service providers, and not hackers.
These apps are also cross-platform and continuously updated to protect users from cyber threats.
Apple Still Not On Board With Encrypted RCS
While Google supports encrypted RCS messaging, Apple has not yet adopted the new RCS protocol that enables end-to-end encryption across Android and iPhone.
This means that cross-platform messages between iPhone and Android remain insecure, similar to how they were a year ago.
FBI’s Earlier Warning Still Relevant
The FBI had already advised American citizens to avoid SMS and use only secure, encrypted communication tools.
With new international laws and increased pressure on tech companies to scan messages, this warning is now more important than ever.
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